Blue
by AnnieCroft
Summary: In post-apocalyptical world, where rules aren't valid anymore, two young teenagers will be forced to survive... don't matter the consequences. Withdrawn from a Roleplay and inspired by The Walking Dead Game, the story follows Ana and Ben, two strangers that, after the traumatic events will have to survive by their own and trust each other. -Will be updated every day if possible-
1. Chapter 1

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Ben sat dejectedly at the bus stop. Today had had to been the shittiest day of his life. First he got caught cutting class and had to stay for detention. Then he was thrown into a dumpster by a crowd of jocks. And then he missed the late bus. Ben sighed again and concentrated on his shoes. A piece of old pizza was still stuck to it from the dumpster. Disgusted, Ben leaned down to pick it off, when he felt someone else sit next to him.

* * *

That has been a quite good day to Ana. She finally could get some time to be with her father and then enjoy some of the good things of her grandparents' town. All the time he was so busy with that police stuff in Atlanta… She sat at the bus stop, waiting to get back home, well, if her grandma's house could be called "home" The girl smiled when thinking about her day. No classes, no worries, no problems, even trough she like the shot and archery classes. Ana looked at the guy at her side, a student, of course. "Hey there!" She said, smiling sweetly. Maybe that was her chance to make some friends.

* * *

Ben was able to get most of the pizza off his foot when a girl's voice broke his concentration. He quickly sat back straight accidentally hitting his head hard on the plexiglass behind him. "Owwwwww…" he groaned as he clutched his head. "Uh…Hi." he replied a little embarrassed still rubbing the back of his head. Well, that was another thing he could add to his list of shitty things that happened today.

* * *

"Oh shit! You're alright?!" She looked confused to the guy. "Are you hurt?" Ana flushed and looked down. She wasn't used to talk to strange people, and didn't had a damn idea of how to start a conversation. She started to unzip her jacket, it was getting too hot. That was when she remembered what was inside it, and started zipping again. Her father was a little too worried about Ana's protection, so he always told her to walk with something to protect herself. In this case, a little switch-blade that she carried in her jacket's inside pocket. She looked at the guy again, she should be a little friendly at least. "Huh…" Why couldn't she find words now?

* * *

"Uh-Ye-yeah! I'm okay." Ben winced as his words came out a bit too forced. He raised an eyebrow when the girl unzipped then zipped up her jacket. Was she hiding something? "U-um…" Ben awkwardly started, "Whi-which bus are you waiting for?" Might as well start some small talk while he was here.

* * *

"The one to Hamilton Street… You?" She frowned trying to think about something. That was Ana, great with weapons, terrible with words. Quite humiliating. She took a rubber band out of her pocket and tied her hair in a ponytail. "So… You study in Stone Mountain High School, right?" The girl said pointing to his jacket. Her father studied there when he was young.

* * *

"Me too." Ben nodded. Here was the weird punk kid in school talking to a pretty thing like her. All the jocks probably would've beat him for it by now if they saw. "Yep, what about you? I don't think I've ever seen you around here." Ben asked. Her accent was the first thing that tipped him off.

* * *

"Oh, I don't live here. I'm from Atlanta. Just, you know, visiting my grandparents… Well, I'm not FROM Atlanta, I was born and raised most of my life on Brazil, moved with my family 4 years ago, but I guess I haven't lost the accent" she smiled at the guy. "By the way, my name's Ana"

* * *

"Atlanta?" Ben repeated. He'd been there several times on the weekends with his family. It was quite a nice place. "Wow, Brazil? Jeez that a long way away huh? I've never been there, but is it nice?" Ben asked, genuinely curious. "My names Ben. Ben Paul" he replied.

Just then, the bus came to a screeching halt in front of them. "This is the bus." Ben murmured and let Ana board first, trying to be polite.

* * *

"Well, it is… Very nice." She crossed her arms while thinking about her past country. To be honest, her memories about those 13 years seemed so vague… "Nice to meet you, Ben" she said, trying to look a little more comfortable. In that moment, the bus arrived, and she got in with Ben.

* * *

The pair sat at a window seat near the back. "Hey, so you heard about the weird shit that's been going on? You know, the 'zombie' cases?" Ben asked. Lately he heard about people getting bitten and corpses getting back up. Personally, he thought the media was trying to get more attention and didn't believe in those reports.

* * *

"Yes, I did. I can't believe something like this would happen… I don't think it's real. Maybe they just want attention" Ana heard her father talking with one of his partners, another cop, about this. "It's crazy ain't it? People coming back from the death…"

* * *

"Yeah I know right? Seriously, the media needs to get better ideas if they wanna trick us." he chuckled. Ben overheard a woman on her phone complain about a bite she had received at work. He glanced at her in his peripheral vision noting her unusual paleness. Probably too much foundation or whatever women put on their faces, he concluded. He turned his attention back to Ana and admitted, "Imagine if it was all real though? I don't think I could survive a day."

* * *

Ana noticed the pale women in the phone. Did she said that she was…bitten? Ana got slightly afraid of that. What if it was true? She unzipped her jacket and pulled out her switch-blade the fast as she could, passing it to her front pocket, and praying for Ben to don't see it. What would he think? Probably that she was a psycho or something like it. She frowned when he said that he wouldn't last a day if something like that happens. "That's not true…" Ana started thinking about that, what if what they're saying were true? Would she survive? _Of course I would_, she taught. All her training wouldn't be for nothing.

* * *

"You think so? I dunno, I kinda scare easily." he admitted. Ben continued to look out the window, discreetly listening to the woman's phone conversation. "Ugh…And then that guy…He just bit me. My head…Uh, it hurts so bad. Uhhhh…" Her words were slurred as if she were drunk. The woman started to violently cough. Suddenly, her phone clattered on the ground and slid underneath the seat Ben and Ana were currently occupying. Ben bent down and picked up the smartphone. When he turned back around he was shocked to see the woman in a strange stupor. "Uuuhhhh…" She moaned as she stared off into nothingness. "Um…Miss? Y-you okay there?" Ben quizzically looked at the woman. He turned to Ana and whispered, "She high or something?"

* * *

Ana raised a eyebrow when the woman started violently coughing. She was in high alert now, holding the blade inside her pocket. Ana wasn't the kind of girl who gets scared easily, but that was being terrifying to her. She immediately jumped on her seat when the women let her phone fell behind their seats. When Ben got the phone, and that women just sat there looking to nowhere, moaning, Ana got really scared. "I don't know if she's high… But she's fucking scaring me" she admitted

* * *

"Yeah. Same." Ben agreed. He warily got out of his seat and squeezed past Ana. Even if the woman might be high as the sky, he still needed to check up on her. "Uh 'Scuse me? Ar-are you alright?" Ben cautiously approached her. Still no response. The woman continued to stare into space. Ben glanced back at Ana and shook his head. "Miss. Look, are you high or something?" he bluntly asked and extended his arm out to tap her shoulder. The woman's previous groaning turned into a low grumbling. As soon as Ben tapped her shoulder she lunged at him and knocked him backwards into the seats behind him. "FUCK!" Ben cursed as he held the crazed lady by the neck to keep her away. She snapped and snarled at him, clawing at his arms to try and grab a hold of him.

* * *

"BEN!" Ana instantly panicked at that. What was wrong with that women? Was she one of…then? Whoever "they" were. The girl got her switch-blade out of her pocked and jumped at the women, stabbing her in the shoulder. But something was wrong… That didn't helped, looked like that that freak hasn't even felt the stab. The women knocked Ana on the floor, completely paralyzing her legs. "FUCK!" The girl took the blade and stabbed the women in the head. That worked at last. Ana pushed the dead body to the side. And in that moment, looked back at her weapon, it was full of blood, just like her hands and some of her face. It was that women' blood. She stood there for some seconds before notice that all the other people in the bus were looking at her like if she just murdered someone, and after 5 seconds of silence, everyone lost their shit


	2. Chapter 2

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

******Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Ben's eyes widened at all the red. His legs gave out as he slumped back into the seat. "Holy shit…HOLY SHIT!" he shrieked and started to hyperventilate. His vision started to blur and he felt panic slowly caress his mind. "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod." his voice cracking an octave higher. He heard screams as other passengers moved as far from the body as they could. But to Ben, everything seemed to move in slow motion. He could only focus on the glassy look of the dead woman. The cacophony of shouts and shrieks became muffled as if he were underwater. In the midst of the chaos, the sudden screaming distracted the bus driver causing him to crash into a wooden beam. Ben felt himself thrown out of his seat. He hit his head hard on the ground and passed out.

* * *

"No…oh god" Ana started getting crazy at that. All the people freaking out, all the screams, people pointing her as a murderer. All she wanted was to get out of there and run as far as she could. Her eyes started to search for Ben desperately, when she saw him laying in the floor, looks like he fainted. Ana closed her switch-blade and put in back in her pocket. Thats when the bus hit something, and Ana fell on the ground. Could have been worst… She crawled by the guy's side and gave him some slaps on the face, trying to get his consciousness back. "BEN! PLEASE WAKE UP!"

* * *

"Uh…Uhhhh…" Ben groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. Stars littered his vision as he looked up at Ana. "Wha-?" he blubbered out before he spotted her red-covered hand. Reality came crashing back down on him as he jolted up and scooted away from her. "Wha-what's happening?" Ben panicked. He couldn't think clearly with all this chaos. His eyes flitted to the front where he saw blood spattered across the windshield. The driver had been killed in the crash. Cold fear ran down his spine as he glanced back at Ana's hand. She just killed someone. Right in front of him. Just then, the crowed of panic-stricken people managed to pry the door open and were swarming outside. Ben stayed in his spot, frozen in fear. He wasn't sure why he was so scared of Ana. Maybe it was the blood on her hands, both metaphorically and literally.

* * *

Ana couldn't take that, doesn't matter what was that women, she KILLED her. Ana looked at Ben's frightened eyes, he was visibly scared of her. Even she was scared of herself. The girl started crying, she tried to hold it, but she couldn't. Ana just sat there, looking at her bloodied hands, tearing up. "I-I'm sorry… I… I…."

* * *

Ben trembled lightly when he heard Ana's whimpers. Now that the chaos had ended, Ben tried to piece back the events that had occurred . The woman suddenly attacking him. Ana trying to subdue her. Then the kill…Ben thoroughly though about what had happened. No, it wasn't Ana's fault. She was trying to protect him. She had killed the woman in an act of self-defense. The punk glanced back at Ana and shakily crawled toward her. "A-Ana…C'mon don't cry. It's not your fault. Sh-she was crazy. If yo-you hadn't done what you did, I might be dead right now." He warily put a hand on her shoulder, "Thank you." he said genuinely.

* * *

Ben was right, he might be dead if Ana hasn't finished that women, but either way, she couldn't help but feel guilt. The girl smiled then Ben thanked her, it was a relief to see that he was alright. Ana leaned down and hugged him, letting the tears hold down her face. She almost don't know that guy, but she was feeling like he was important to her now. "That was the most terrifying thing I ever did… But I'm glad you're okay"

* * *

Ben blushed lightly when she hugged him. He awkwardly wrapped his arms and her and smiled, "I'm glad I'm okay too." He broke away, "We should get outta here. If the police come, I'll be one of the witnesses to explain what happened." he assured her. Shakily standing up, Ben was again exposed to the sight of blood. He felt the urge to vomit then and there but managed to control it. Don't. Look. The woman from before lay on the ground, her lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling. Ben carefully stepped around her and off the bus. However, outside wasn't much better. The bus crashing had caused many more cars to follow suit. Many injured lay on the streets calling for help. "Holy fuck…" Ben whispered in disbelief.

* * *

Ana hold Ben's hand to get out of the crashed bus. Her head was hurting and her body was terribly weak. When they got out of the crash, she could see that it wasn't better there. "Ben…." She hold his hand a little stronger, and shook her head trying to find some words. "It's really happening, isn't it? It's not a dream? Or... a nightmare..."


	3. Chapter 3

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

A scream pierced the air as a man cradled his broken leg. Blood oozed into the street gutters from a severely injured woman leaning against a telephone pole. Her light gurgling came to an abrupt end as the light escaped from her eyes. Ben keeled over and vomited. He had never seen so much death and carnage at once. "Ughhh…God, wh-what's…Happening?" All he wanted was to get home. Without notice, a man with half his organs falling out nonchalantly stood up. He started to limp towards Ben and Ana, a low groaning erupted from his pale throat. Ben's eyes widened at the horrific sight. This can't be happening. Maybe this was some sort of prank. It had to be. Dead people don't just suddenly wake up.

* * *

"_Poor guy…"_ she muttered. She turned her eyes back to the massacre, and saw a man, with his organs going out of his belly. Her instinct made her instantly get her blade again. She prepared it in her hand, waiting for it to come near. She was planning to take the "thing" down. No one else could die again. The undead person tried to attack her and Ben. But her reflexes were better, she rolled to the right and, when got up again, stabbed the creature on the head. It was a quick and certain stab. The walker fell by Ben's side. This time it was easier to do it.

* * *

The 'man' fell to the ground with a thud. Ben took an instinctive step back and turned to Ana, "What…Happened to him? Tha-that guy…He was dead. I know he was dead." Dead things didn't come back to life. That's what he was told all his life. Those things only happened in movies or video games (or online roleplays). Ben jumped when he heard the familiar dull lifeless groan. He snapped towards the sound only to see a woman limp towards the man with a broken leg. Bloodcurdling screams filled the air as the man was devoured alive. Ben started to tremble, reminiscent of a trapped animal. Everything he had known about this world was turned upside down. He didn't know what to believe anymore.

* * *

"Ben, common! We need to get out of here!" Ana said, holding the guy's arm. "We need to get to the police station. NOW!" She started running and pulling Ben with her. It wasn't safe to be around there anymore. The station wasn't too far away from there, she could easily get there in some minutes, if running. She was still holding the knife in her hand. The girl never really taught that she would have to use it someday, and always got terrified with the idea. Ana was still running when saw the police station, some meters away, and started shouting. "HELP!"

* * *

Ben continued to stare at the act of cannibalism. A small voice told him to run, but his legs stayed locked in place. The voice got louder, until it morphed into Ana's voice, telling him to run. He tripped a little but managed to catch himself as he followed Ana. As they ran down the streets, he heard more cries for help. He glanced up at a window to see a woman being approached by her undead husband. Clutching onto her baby tightly, she begged for him to stop. Ben quickly averted his gaze back to the street. Don't look. Just Don't. Look. You have to stay calm.

The police station came into view. Ben joined in with Ana and yelled, "PLEASE HELP! P-PEOPLE A-ARE DYING!" The door to the police station was slightly ajar as Ben almost crashed into the station wall. Not bothering to check if there were any immediate dangers, he slammed the door open and entered. Bloody hand prints were smeared across the wall. Signs of a struggle were evident from the upturned table and the magazines scattered on the floor. "A-anyone? Please. Some crazy shit's going down out there!"

* * *

"Please, someone!? Everybody is dying out there!" Ana was screaming and looking everywhere for someone. Then, something made her freeze from fear. Her father was in this station. "No…no no no… DAD! DAD! Are you there!? Please" some tears started rolling down we face, she ran to open the office door. The first thing she saw inside it was a gun. Her instinct made her get it and prepare. She was very experienced with pistols, it was a luck she found one. There was some bodies on the ground, some of then was still agonizing. Ana quickly got out of the room, and started shouting for her father again. But no response. Maybe he was home already? "Please be okay" she was praying for it.


	4. Chapter 4

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

******Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Ben closely followed Ana deeper into the station. Could the police be in as much trouble as they were right now? Judging from the blood stains, the station had been breached by one of 'them'. "Wait…You-your Dad was stationed here? M-maybe he's not here! I-I mean he's your Dad. A-and you're tough. If anything happened, he'd be alright!" he tried to reassure Ana. But he knew, that words didn't stop death. Ben yelped when he saw the numerous bodies behind the office door. Holy shit…If this is what had become of the police, how was an 18 year old supposed to survive? He shakily armed himself with a baton when he noticed Ana grabbing a pistol. Guns scared him, and he had never shot one before anyways so might as well go with something easier to use.

* * *

"Here, take it" Ana hold Ben's hand and gave him her switch-blade. It was full of blood, and it was kinda disgusting, but it's better than that gun she was holding was now prepared for whatever the hell they would find in the way. She headed to the kitchen, maybe someone was hiding there. When she opened the door, she saw a man, lying on the ground. His face was covered in blood it was a terrible vision. She approached the dead body carefully, but when she was a meter away from him, he came back. The scare made her jump back and aim at his head, pulling the trigger. The shot was really noisy, and made Ana's ears hurt. But she was good at it, and the bullet has been set right in the middle of it's head.

'W_hat about Atlanta?'_ She taught. Was that happening there too? What about her mother and brother. What if something happen to them?

* * *

"Th-thanks" Ben grimaced cautiously taking the weapon. But he couldn't be too picky now, it was probably more effective than the blunt weapon he was currently holding. He closely followed Ana out of the room and eyed the dead body. Was he going to come back? As Ana managed to make it past the kitchen the body suddenly got up and shot an arm out at Ben. Ben shrieked and jumped back, falling onto his bum. A gun shot rang throughout the room. He cracked on eye open to see the zombie back on the ground, this time, permanently. "Th-thanks. " Ben stammered shakily getting up. God, he was a mess today. He crossed the room, warily stepping around the corpse. "Okay…Wh-what does your Dad look like?" Ben asked her. It would make this search easier if he knew what he was looking for.

* * *

"No problem" she said, lowering the gun. "Well, he's tall, like, 1,82m, gray hair, have a beard, and a strong and threatening look" that description was the best she could think. Her head was throbbing and her vision was getting kinda blurred. But she couldn't give up. She looked back at the door, there was a lot of other rooms to search. "Ben, lets look more" Ana said, with a determinate look in her eyes. She headed to the main hall again, trying to find another useful door. Where the hell could he be? If he WERE there. "Maybe he's home, and we're just risking our lives" she muttered to herself and looked at Ben. She was risking HIS life there. That wasn't fair…

* * *

"1 82m? Ummm…That's like 5'10", 5'11" right?" Ben scratched his head, not used to the metric system. He kept his eyes peeled for anyone fitting the description. "Well, maybe we should…Double check around here. We should make sure he's not here before we leave." Ben suggested. Then they could rule out the police station and keep moving. He knew he was risking his life staying in such a claustrophobic place, but he couldn't just leave without making sure Ana's father wasn't here. His curiosity won him over. "We have to keep searching."

* * *

She headed to another room, in the end of the corridor. Ana opened the door carefully, trying don't make any unnecessary noise. That was a big room, probably a place where all the cops went to have a cup of coffee and chat. Suddenly, a noise came from the other side of the room, Ana's eyes desperately started searching for it source. When she saw from where it was coming. A man, her father, was lying near a table. He was using jeans and a shirt, not his usual work clothes. He went there to met his friends. Her father was covered in blood, it was pouring from his neck, in a opened wound. Ana fell on her knees, horrified. "No… No… Why?" She tried to get near him, stumbling, and fell again. That couldn't be true. "Da-dad? Please, don't do this to me…" She hugged his almost lifeless body, she could feel that he was still agonizing. "A-ana…" He whispered, trying to make a last contact with his daughter. "Please…" She said pointing at her gun. He was begging for her to finish that. Finish the pain, and make sure he wasn't going to turn. Ana was so astonished that she couldn't say a word "Please, Ann, I know you can do it. Take care of your mother and from Ed. I-I love you…" He had passed away. The girl just sat there, looking at the lifeless body and trying to process all the information. It was her father's last request. She HAD to do it. She stood up again and aimed the gun on the dead man's head. "I'm sorry, dad… I love you too" And then she pulled the trigger. In the instant she fell on the floor, crying and sobbing like she never did before. Why? Why was this happening to her?

* * *

The sudden noise made Ben jump slightly. Shit, was it one of those things again? As Ana slowly opened the door, Ben peeked over her shoulder. He first noticed the crimson splattering the walls and ceiling. The second thing he noticed was a man lying on the desk, his life slowly oozing out of him. Ben gulped at the sight, never had he seen something so…gruesome. Judging from Ana's reaction, the man must have been her father.

Ben slowly stepped into the room after Ana rushed to her father's side. Watching Ana desperately cling onto her father as if she could stop Death's arrival slowly ate away at Ben. Her father uttered something quietly, and even though he couldn't make out what it was, from Ana's next few actions he knew. It was strange hearing the three words 'I love you' juxtaposed by the sound of a gunshot. As Ben watched Ana's father's lifeless form slump back down on the desk, it suddenly dawned on him that this was death. Nothing glamorous like the media always portrayed and at this moment, his sense of youthful immortality was shattered.

"A-Ana…I'm sorry." he murmured crouching down next to her. He wasn't sure what to say in a situation like this. Ben cautiously put a hand on her shoulder, hoping that this small gesture might show her that she wasn't alone. It was obvious that she needed her time to recover.

* * *

_They're all dead, no way the would have survived_. Ana got away from Ben, trying to catch some air again. That couldn't be happening to her. She was staring her gun this time. Silent, just with her thoughts. She moved the pistol, Holding it against her own head, and her finger on the trigger. If her family was really all gone, why to stay there? The girl looked at Ben, with her eyes shinning with the tears. Ben's words passed through her mind 'I wouldn't last a day' he said. '_Stay for him...'_ That was the last thing she could think before drop the gun and fall into unconsciousness


	5. Chapter 5

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

"Ana?!" he called out after the girl as she ran from him. Ben ran after her, afraid what she might do if she was left to her own devices. He immediately froze when he saw the gun held at her head. "St-st-" No matter how hard he tried Ben couldn't get the words out, his throat tightening from panic. He dumbly reached an arm out silently trying to express his thoughts. Their eyes locked for a moment. Her eyes said everything. How she was going to give up.

The sudden clatter of the weapon followed by a thud made him wince. Ben stood there for a minute trying to process what had happened before rushing down to her side. "Ana? Ana?!" Ben whined finally finding his voice. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw she was breathing. Thank god. However, groans of the undead ripped him from his thoughts. They had to get out of here. Ben scooped her up in his arms before clumsily picking up the gun. The glowing red exit sign caught his eye and he awkwardly walked towards it. If he could just get the door open they could be out of here. Ben slammed himself against the door a couple times trying to open the slightly rusted door open.

* * *

Ana felt her consciousness slowly getting back. Her vision was blurred, and her head hurting very much. Anyway, she could see Ben's face, he was holding her, that made her feel a little more safe. The girl looked around, trying to find out where she was. Did they got out of the police station already? She was so confused. The memories of the whole day suddenly invaded her mind, and she hold to don't cry again. Her father always told her to be strong, doesn't matter what happened. She was weak back there, and that wasn't going to happen again. "Ben… I'm sorry for that…" She said, feeling guilty that she let him by himself on that. God know what could have happened

By the time Ana woke up, Ben had managed to escape the station and was taking an obscure route behind the buildings. He knew the town well enough to know where each alleyway would take him. "Ana." He said in a hushed tone as he noticed her stirring. Abruptly, he stopped behind an apartment complex and carefully set her down against the wall. His lanky arms burned from the workout. "You alright there?" he asked crouching down to her level. Hopefully she didn't have a concussion

"I'm alright… I think the stress put me down before I could have done anything stupid" Ana took a break to breath, it was being hard to her to do even that. "We need to find somewhere safe… It's getting dark" she said, looking to the sky. The sun was almost completely down at that hour. The girl started thinking about what happened back there. How she was about to give up. What if she had pulled the trigger? She was hungry, tired and hurt from that day, all she wanted was to get to her bed and have a long sleep. But of course, that wouldn't be possible anymore. She looked at the gun on Ben's hand, that wasn't going to be enough to protect then in a serious situation. She needed her bow, arrows and a knife. "Ben… There's a weapon shop near here. We need to get there."

* * *

Shit, this day could not get any worse. All he wanted to do, was take a bus ride home and collapse on his bed. But instead the day turned into a nightmare filled with cannibalistic psychos and the walking dead. Well, at least he had someone that knew their way around a weapon. "Okay…Oh…And uh, here's your gun back." Ben nodded and handed the pistol back to Ana. "How far away is this shop?" he asked as he stood up. The streets were probably filled with the undead by now, and he didn't want to see the outcome of so much chaos and carnage. So, this is what survival felt like.

* * *

She took the gun back and attached to her belt. "It's not far, I think that in 5 minutes we're able to get there. But we need to be careful, not just with those things, but with humans too. We will have to break into the store, and pray that no one is there. They would never sell weapons for a 17 year old girl… I can't believe I'm saying this, but we will have to steal it." Ana looked down, a little ashamed for her plan. Stealing was wrong, a crime, But it was their only chance. She stopped for a minute to think. With this chaos, probably other people would try to get there as well. She took her gun again and counted how many bullets where left: 4. Would that be enough? She hoped so. "Let's go" she stood up again, kinda dizzy from the recent faint. The girl hold herself on Ben's arm and they started walking. The gun shop entrance was in a alley, so it was very discrete.

* * *

His face paled at her suggestion. Every single on of his morals were being tested today. How far would he go to survive?

"I-I guess we're going to have to." Ben nodded.

The pair walked out into the streets. Previously, the screams for help and the car alarms were just background noise. Now it was much louder. Screeches from rubber tires skidding on the pavement could be heard from miles away. Cries for help echoed across the town. The stench of death lingered in the air.

Ben shakily walked next to Ana. Each step he took was a struggle to keep upright as he tried to keep his legs from buckling underneath him. It was too much. Too much.

A couple of walkers feasting on a fresh kill slowly looked up and grunted. Ben squeaked, trying to muffle his yelp. He shakily pulled out his knife as the walkers limped towards the two. Flight or flight? Fight or flight?

* * *

"Let's get out of here" she muttered to Ben "they're slow, and don't worth our bullets" she hold the guy's arm and pulled him. She pointed at the other side of the street, in a little, dark alley. That was their destination. "C'mon" she started running to it, pulling Ben with her. When they got there, Ana saw a little door, and a plaque with the name of the store, now illegible because of the blood on it. She touched the plaque and jumped back. That blood was still fresh. She turned the doorknob hoping it to be locked, so she could lock pic it. Because at that time it would already be closed. But no, looks like someone else already had done that. She prepared the gun. Someone was inside it, and it may or may not be friendly.


	6. Chapter 6

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

The sudden touch jolted Ben out of his trance. "Y-yeah…" he mumbled and followed Ana, the walkers extended an arm out and let out a groan. Ben tried to keep up with Ana but his shaky legs kept making him stumble.

The store showed no sign of recent life minus the fresh blood. God, he was never going to look at the colour red the same way ever again. The door was already unlocked despite it being late in the day.

Ben glanced at Ana as she armed herself. He didn't want her to take the guilt of killing another living being, but he didn't know if he had it in him. Holding his breath, Ben opened the door as quietly as possible and crept in.

No one was in the store front as Ben tried to keep the floor boards from creaking. However, as he crept further into the shop, he heard a slam in the back room. He gave a fearful glance at Ana as he hid behind a display case.

* * *

"_Oh shit"_ she muttered and hid with Ben behind a display. Who was there? She looked at every corner of the current room and no one was there. Maybe they would be able to get out of there without have to face anyone. She looked up the display, and, in a wall, was a beautiful long wooden bow and a bunch of arrows, 30, more or less. "Stay here, I'll try to get the things and then we get out" She sneaked out of the display and headed to the bow. When she got near she managed to get it out o the wall, and pic up the bag of arrows, putting it in her back. Her eyes started looking for a knife, ammo and a holster. She quickly found a holster and attached it in her belt, that was going to be useful. As she stepped back, in from of a corridor, something grabbed her. Or… Someone. Whoever grabbed her wasn't a walker, walkers don't put a knife in your throat. "Get the hell away from me!" Her eyes desperately started looking for Ben.

* * *

The slam was followed by a heavy silence. Ben let out a sigh of relief, at least whatever that was hadn't come into the room. "Okay, be careful." he whispered to Ana and watched her grab a few items. While Ana busied herself, a small handgun caught his eye. He gingerly picked it up and tilted it. Travis' father had taught him a few things about guns, like how to take the safety off or reloading, but he had never gotten a chance to shoot one himself. Maybe Ana could teach him.

However, as Ben studied the gun, Ana suddenly yelped. He whipped around only to see Ana grabbed a tall man holding a knife to her throat. The knife he was holding was clean, but the man's hands were covered in blood. "COME ANY CLOSER AND I'LL KILL HER! YOU FUCKIN THIEVES! I'LL KILL HER!" He yelled. Panic started to pool in his stomach again. His pacifism kicked in as he slowly raised his hands up in surrender. "Please! Don't hurt her! We-we'll leave!" he pleaded.

* * *

Ana froze in horror. What now? She tried to release herself from the man's arms, but when she did, he pressed the knife harder. "YOU DON'T FUCKING MOVE!" The man yelled. What you she do now? He looked at the gun on Ben's hand, "do it, ben!" She shouted. The man moved the knife to her forehead and made a cut. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ana felt her forehead burning, and blood going down her face. "BEN! Please!" She was almost crying now

* * *

Ben froze at the sight of Ana's blood. He started to tremble uncontrollably and he raised his weapon. There was no way he could hit the man. Not with his aim. He gulped and tried to calm himself. The man held the knife closer to Ana's throat. His hands shook as he finally pulled the trigger.

The man behind Ana slumped down on the ground. Even with his horrid aim and shaking hands, he had somehow hit his target. Ben's knees buckled underneath him and he mirrored his kill and crumpled to the ground. At the age of 18, he had already killed another human. His lip quivered as he stared at the gun in his hand. This wasn't happening. He didn't want to be a murderer.

* * *

"T-thank you" she said to Ben. She wasn't faithful that he would be capable to do it, but he did, to save her. She pressed her wound, it was bleeding very much, what made Ana's face get partially red. But weirdly it wasn't hurting that much. She walked to Ben and hugged him. "Nice shot. You saved my life… C'mon, let's take the rest of the things and get out of here" She avoided looking at the man, but for the first time, she didn't felt pity. He tried to kill her, so why should her feel bad about him? She headed to a balcony and took a combat knife and putting it in her holster.


	7. Chapter 7

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

All he could focus on was the gun. Everything around him became a whisper as the gun screamed at him. A sense of self-hatred washed over him causing him to almost vomit. So this was what killing a person felt like. Questions rushed through his mind. Was that man a father? Did he have a wife? Did he have friends? Was someone going to miss him?

* * *

Ana's hug tore him from his self-pity. He tightly hugged her back and tried to suppress a sob. "Y-yeah." he whimpered into her shoulder. Ben shakily stood up and walked over to the cabinets. They were going to need lots of ammunition.

* * *

"Let's take all the ammo we can. And pick up some weapons for you too" she said while breaking the glass of a display and picking up a pistol and some ammo. "Ben... Do you have any idea of where can we get food at this hour? The last thing I ate was my lunch." Ana was feeling hungry, thirsty and tired from that day. "And somewhere for us to sleep..."

* * *

"G-gotcha." he nodded and grabbed a shotgun just in case. There was no way he could handle the recoil but he could always use it for empty threats. "Um…" Ben mumbled as he racked his brain for any ideas. "Y-yeah. There's a supermarket just down the street! And a place to sleep…Hmmm, maybe the high school I go to? No one would ever go there in the middle of a…Zombie attack." He hesitated calling this the apocalypse. He didn't want to make it official that the world was ending.

* * *

"Are you sure you can handle a shotgun? Even I can't stand recoil of it… But, well, keep it, but take a pistol too, and a knife." She frowned looking at the gun. "So, lets go to this market. I'm really hungry" Ana said while opening the door where they got in. "And sorry. It was my fault. If I wasn't distracted you wouldn't have to kill that man." She knew how hard it was to kill someone, and feel bad for him. She took her bow out of her back and prepared with a arrow, this time it would be easier to kill any walker that got in their way.

* * *

"Nah, I probably can't but it might be good for intimidating." He was tall enough already. Maybe he could scare some people off if he had a shotgun. Taking the gun and an extra knife, he quietly thanked her. "No. I-It's not your fault. How could it be? That man was trying to kill you." Ben weakly smiled at her.

"Right. Just follow me. The faster we get there, the better." Slowly, he opened the door and stepped out. The streets were quieter than before. Most likely because everyone else was either dead or hiding. Ben quickly pushed those negative thoughts out of his head and sprinted down the street. Some of the undead tried to grab at him but he managed to stay out of their reach.

"Almost there!" Ben grunted. The supermarket was coming into view. A few of the display windows were broken, obviously someone had entered the store by force. They had to be careful.

* * *

Ana sprinted, following Ben until the supermarket. She noticed that the windows of the place were broken. Great, the last thing she wanted was to face another person. She sneaked into the market, along with Ben. A little far from then she saw a corpse of a person with one of the undead people eating his organs. Ana seriously wanted to vomit when she saw it, but she was capable to hold it. The girl raised her bow, aiming at it's head, and shoot. The arrow crossed the walker's head and the creature fell by the side of his prey. Ana prepared another arrow and shot it on the dead civilian's head, she needed to make sure he wouldn't turn too. She couldn't risk all her arrows, so she approached the corpses and pulled out them both, taking the arrows back. "Ugh…" She muttered, disgusted by the vision. Ana turned her head to Ben "lets just get the food and get out. Okay?"

* * *

The lights of the market were flickering when the two entered. Some of the aisles were engulfed in complete darkness. Shit, this was like something out of a horror film. As he crept further down the aisles he heard the sickening snap of bone. Ben slowly peeked over the side of the shelves to see another horrific act of cannibalism. "Ugh…" Ben grimaced and looked away. Luckily, his stomach had nothing to give up.

He heard a 'twing' of a string behind him. Before he could see what it was, an arrow flew over his head and hit the zombie right in the cranium. Ben glanced over his shoulder to see Ana preparing another arrow. "Woah." he whispered in awe as it also found its target. "W-wow, where didya learn to do that?" It wasn't common to see someone so skilled at archery.

Ben followed closely behind Ana as she retrieved her arrows. "Ew." He wrinkled his nose at the gore-covered arrow. "Roger." He nodded and started to grab a few things off the shelves. Cereal. It could last them a while. Candy bars. Canned food. Water. Ben stuffed them into his school backpack. He wasn't sure how long this was going to last but might as well be safe than sorry. After a quick check to make sure he didn't need anything else, he rushed back to Ana's side and nodded, "Alright. Got everything. You ready?"

* * *

"My father started teaching me archery when I was 10 years old" she said, smiling with the good old memories. Ben got the food and they where already ready to go. "Okay, let's go. But not more running this time. Right? My legs are killing me" She hold Ben's arm while walking, she was felling dizzy and weak. That was certainly the worst day of her life, but she was lucky to have Ben with her.

* * *

"Heh, I'm glad your Dad taught you what he did. Without you, I'd probably be dead by now." Ben smiled remembering his time back in the bus. He really was lucky to have Ana. She seemed to be a lot more street smart than he was, not to mention she was a crack shot.

Ben glanced over at Ana holding onto his arm for support, "You alright there?" The last thing he wanted was for her to collapse from exhaustion. "Do you need water? Or should we rest?"

* * *

"I'm okay… I'm just tired. Lets just get in your school. Is it too far away from here? My legs are burning" The girl was feeling like she could faint at any moment, but she was fighting for it to doesn't happen. They needed to get out of the streets, it wasn't safe. Ana felt her wound on the forehead split more blood on her face. "Fuck…" She cursed, pressing the cut with her hand. "It's getting cold here…" Ana said, looking at Ben. Her plaid shirt and jacket wasn't being enough to keep her warm. She noticed that the left side of her face was now almost completely covered with her blood.

* * *

The school wasn't too far off. Maybe 15 minutes away if they walked fast enough. "Okay." Ben reluctantly nodded. Ana looked horrible. Her face had become considerably paler and she seemed exhausted, not just tired.

He helped Ana out of the store and continued down the store while avoiding as many of the undead as he could. "Huh? Really? Do you want my jacket?" Ben asked as he glanced back. Holy shit. Half her face was covered in her own blood. It wasn't the weather that was making her cold, it was the blood loss. "Du-dude! You're losing blood! A-are you sure you don't need to sit down?" Just then, he remembered that he always kept some tissues in his backpack. "Hold on." Ben murmured as he set it down and got out a few pieces of tissue paper. "Here, j-just put some pressure to the cut with these."

* * *

"I can hold until we get there, but thank you." She said, taking the paper and putting it in her wound. Her hands were shaking violently, and her vision was getting very burry. "Let's continue. I'm just slowing us" She hold Ben's arm again, and tried to walk faster. "Ben… I… I'm lucky to have you with me. You're probably the only person I have now…" She did a pause as some tears went down her eyes "promise me that you won't leave me? I'm so scared" All that day was painful to her, she wasn't just weak on her body, but her mind was fragile now.


	8. Chapter 8

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Shit, Ana was looking worse for wear. Ben wasn't sure if she could make it to the school without passing out. All he could do was pray that her wound would clot up soon. "Ana, are sure yo-you don't need me to carry you?" She was trembling lightly and it wouldn't surprise him if she collapsed right then and there.

His eyes widened at her confession. "I…I promise." How could he promise something so easy to break? There were too many variables. He could die from a zombie attack, he could die from disease. They could get separated. But something told him, that if he didn't make this promise, he would regret it.

* * *

"I'm sure, Ben. We can't risk it. What if we need to run? It would be painful for you to run carrying 120 lbs with you" she did a pause to breath and leaned her hands on her knees. "Just… Let me hold on your arm until we get there" She smiled sweetly when Ben promised to wont leave her. The last thing she wanted was to end up alone, and having him as a company was being very good to her. "Thank you" She started to walk again "if you see anything, tell me ok? We can't risk the noise of a gunshot. And I'm still capable to shoot my bow even with my eyes closed"

* * *

120 pounds wasn't much. He had ran away from some bullies while carrying Travis before so Ana shouldn't be much of a problem. But he supposed he couldn't really force her to climb on his back. "Alright…But if you need any help, don't be afraid to tell me." Ben wasn't about to lose his new friend.

The pair speed walked towards the school, and so far they hadn't ran into too many problems. "Okay, just a little bit more." Ben muttered. The burgundy walls of his high school were just in sight. Normally just seeing the school would fill him with dread, but it instead gave him a strong sense of hope.

* * *

When the high school came to Ana's view, she opened a big smile. She never felt happy to see a school before, considering how much she was bullied there, but this time was different. She could finally rest, clean her face and eat something now. "Well, that wasn't too far" The girl said, walking even faster, and ignoring her pain. All what she wanted was to get there. The excitement gave her an energy boost, She hold Ben's hand and ran to the front door of the school, opening it. "Finally… What do we do now?"

* * *

The doors were unlocked like he expected. School security here was pretty much nonexistent. "Alright, first let's go to the nurse's office. We can fix you up there." Ben lead Ana down the hall before a sudden groan caused him to duck into the boy's bathroom. Shit, when could he get a fucking break? He slowly peeked out to see a walker shamble out of one of the classrooms.

* * *

"Alright, lead the way" she said, following the guy down the hall to the nursery. She frowned when heard another undead groan and hid on the guys' bathroom. "shit… I do this" Ana took the bow out of her back and a arrow, and sneaked out of the bathroom. The walker was the janitor, a tall and old men. The girl aimed the arrow in his head and shot. The arrow crossed the walker's head with perfection, in a clean and quick shot. The "men" fell on his knees, and then, his face hit the ground. She reached her hand to Ben "c'mon, if another walker come I can get him, no worries. Now lets go to the nurses' office before I lose more blood"

* * *

"B-be careful." Ben whispered to Ana. All he wanted was to get to the Nurse's office and find a safe place to stay. Was that too much to ask for?

The familiar 'twang' of the bow rang through the hallway as the arrow shot towards its target. It was followed by a thud. Ben cautiously peeked out to see the zombie taken care of. "Nice shot." The teen smiled as he crept out of his hiding spot. "The Nurse's office is just around that corner." He glanced down at the body, his eyebrows knit in frustration. It was the Janitor. He couldn't really explain what he was feeling at that moment. Maybe fear? It was scary to see the person whom you saw just yesterday, alive and well, and then see him again the next, decayed and well…Dead for a second time.

The two stealthily ran to the office which was unlocked yet again. This time Ben took the lead and opened the door. He listened intently for any signs of life before stepping in. Now where the hell did the nurse keep the bandages? Aha! There they were! Ben tried to open the glass cabinet doors, but to his dismay they were locked. Of course. Fate wasn't about to make it too easy for him.

Alright, now they just needed to figure out how to open the cabinet. A gunshot? No, that would be too noisy.

* * *

"Here, lemme try" she said, catching a big metal stapler from the desk. "stay away…" Ana trowed the object, breaking the glass. She approached the bandages and a little bottle of antiseptic, being careful to don't step on a shard, and took then.

The girl seated on a sofa and reached the bandages to Ben. "Gimme a hand here?"

* * *

It was just a glass door. Maybe they could break it? But what if it made too much noise? It might attract more of those zombies, and the last thing he wanted was to see the zombified school nurse. She was a crazy sadist when she was human; he didn't want to imagine what she would be like as a bloodthirsty goon.

Ben was torn from his paranoid thoughts when Ana told him to step away. The stapler in her hand immediately caught his attention as he jolted back and covered his eyes. Luckily, it didn't make too much noise and the medical supplies were free for the taking.

"Sure." Ben murmured, a little unsure of himself. In Health class they taught the students basic first aid, but nothing too fancy. He carefully poured some antiseptic on a gauze and cleaned the wound. An infection would be a nasty thing to get at a time like this. Ben then took a bandage and cautiously patted it onto Ana's forehead. "There we go…That should do it."

* * *

"Okay, you lead the way. I'll be right back" she said, taking the bow out of her back and preparing again, just for precaution.

They quickly got into the chemistry room with no problems. Ana closed the door and seated on the floor, relieved.

"Oh, God… Finally!" She started taking her jacket and plaid shirt off, it was getting very uncomfortable already. The girl ended up just with her dirty skinny jeans, a green top and her brown combat boots.


	9. Chapter 9

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

The familiar smell of chemicals wafted from the chemistry room. Just yesterday, Ben had been taking a test in this very room. He remembered panicking on the last question as he tried to remember the structure of an phenol group.

The pair rushed into the room before Ben turned around to slammed it close. He hastily locked it and peeked through the plexiglass to check if anything had followed them. Nothing. They seemed to be in the clear for now.

Ben leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. "Yeah…Finally." he sighed. The teen shook his head slowly as he thought back to the events of today. It had been the most horrifying day of his life yet he managed to survive thanks to his new friend. Ben glanced over at Ana and weakly smiled, "Thanks, for watching my back. I-I don't think I could've made it without you." The idea of how easily he could have died sent a few chills down his spine. However, this thought suddenly lead to another one: What about his family?

Ben whipped out his phone to check the reception. 3 bars. Good, he could probably reach them. He quickly typed a text message forwarding it to all 3 of his family members, "Mom, Dad, Lindsey. r u ok? I'm safe I found another person. I'm in the school. I love you guys." _Please. Please respond. I love you._

* * *

When Ana saw Ben taking his phone to contact his family, she remembered about hers. Her mother and little brother was still in Atlanta, and she doesn't had a damn idea about how they were doing.

Ana stoop up again, took her phone from the inside of her jacket, and seated by Ben's side. She started calling her mother, praying for her to answer it, but nothing happened. The frustration made her eyes get filled with tears.

The girl covered her face. She didn't wanted Ben to see her crying again. She wasn't weak, and didn't wanted to demonstrate such thing.

* * *

He leaned his head back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. The lights were still on, thankfully, but for how long. Coincidentally, a survival show was on a couple nights ago saying that if something happened to the human race reception and electricity would be the first to go. As if it were foreshadowing all this…

Ben glanced at Ana as she took out her phone. She was obviously distraught about something. He got up and walked over to her. Maybe she didn't get any reception? "Hey uh…You okay? Do you need to borrow mine?" Ben offered her his beat-up flip phone.

* * *

Ana dried her tears and looked at Ben. "Don't worry… I have plenty of reception on mine" she said, showing her white iPhone. The problem wasn't her reception, obviously.

"Let's go eat something… I'll try to call my mom again later"

She saw a little hand mirror on a table and stood up to take it. She was kinda curious to see how bad was she looking.

* * *

"Oh…S-sorry…Maybe you could text her? O-Or leave a voice message?" Ben hastily suggested trying to be as helpful as he could. He knew exactly how she felt. Mom and Dad and Lindsey could be dead for all he knew, and here he was. Trying to survive in the last place he wanted to be.

"Alright. The cafeteria's across the school, but I don't think it should be too much of a problem." Most of the clubs had ended by now and the only possible zombies they'd need to worry about would be the teachers and other staff. He really didn't want to see Mrs. Alsworth, his chemistry teacher, zombified or not.

As Ben started to unlock the door, he glanced back at Ana to see her looking into the mirror. Hopefully the cut wouldn't scar. It would be such a waste to ruin such a pretty face.

* * *

"Just a minute…" she said, and turned her attention to her own reflex in the mirror.

She didn't looked the same from that morning, her pink cheeks and healthy face now had turned into a pale skin, and she looked more… mature? Maybe it was the blood on her forehead, or the dark circles in her eyes.

"I look terrible don't I?… Not that I looked pretty good before, but… I look like shit now" she turned her head to Ben again. She always was very worried about how she looked, even in such moment.

She let the mirror in the table again and walked to her weapons, taking it. "Okay, lets go" Ana ran through the door, analyzing the corridor.

Nothing there. Maybe they wouldn't have to face more walkers again

* * *

"No, of course not! You don't look bad!" Ben's reflection joined Ana's as he joined her. He looked down at his own reflection and frowned. Compared to him, Ana looked much better. They were both pretty banged up. Ben hesitantly added, "Don't say that. Um…I-I think you're still pretty…I-If that means anything to you." From living with a sister for the past 13 years, Ben knew how much a boy's opinion meant to some girls. Well, he was neither good looking nor charismatic but hopefully his opinion meant something to her.

"A-Anyways, let's just get to the cafeteria." Ben quickly turned around to hide his blush. He quickly followed behind Ana and murmured, "Alright, just gotta go down that hallways over there and take the first right." Ben said in a hushed tone as he pointed towards a corridor.

* * *

Ana smiled sweetly with the compliment. If that could be called a compliment. She turned her head, staring at Ben while her heart beats accelerated. Why? She had no clue. Ana never liked anyone "that way" before, never fell in love by someone or even had a boyfriend. She haven't even kissed! Yeah, probably the only 17 year old girl who never kissed someone. How great.

Her cheeks got intensely red with that. She let the mirror there and followed Ben to the cafeteria. They had no problems on getting there, no walkers or another person. Just the sound of their footsteps.

"So… huh… do you know where to get the food?" she said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence


	10. Chapter 10

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

"Yeah. That door right there leads to the kitchen. I dunno how good the food is though." Ben whispered with a grimace. The school lunch here was nasty. Today's special had been a chunky chilli with bilious green peas reminiscent of meaty puke. Ben shook his head to get the image out of his mind.

He crept towards the metallic door and slowly opened it. The door hit a pot on the side and made a loud clang. Ben winced at this and hesitantly looked around him. Okay, well that didn't seem to attr- Awkward footsteps echoed in the back of the kitchen. A pair of feet could be seen from under the oven. Ben scurried off behind a sink to hide as he heard the figure limping towards the door. A guttural moan broke the silence as the zombie got closer. Ben trembled praying that it wouldn't see him.

* * *

Ana started aiming again when heard the footsteps. "You don't need to hide, Ben. I'm here" A fat undead woman came stumbling to then. Ana whistled to call her attention, and when the women reached her arms to try to catch her, the girl shot an arrow that was set in the middle of her right eye. "See?" She smirked. Ana didn't wanted to admit, but she kinda liked doing this now, being badass and saving Ben's ass. "Okay, now the food, and get out of here" she said, crouching and retrieving her arrow from the fallen body

* * *

Each thud of the zombie's heavy footsteps sent a jolt of panic through him. He covered his mouth, afraid that his uneven breathing would alert it. A hushed whisper tore his attention from his fear. '_Ana_.' That name seemed more like a soothing lullaby now. He knew if Ana was there, she could save him like she always did.

The arrow shot past the sink he was currently hiding under and a squishy 'thunk' told him it had hit its target yet again. Ben peeked out from his hiding spot to check the thing was indeed dead. It wasn't moving or mindlessly grabbing out to him.

He gingerly crawled out and stood back up to his full height. "Th-thanks for that." he sheepishly ran a hand through his hair, a nervous tick of his. "Alright the food should be around here somewhere!" Ben moved further into the kitchen, carefully stepping over the lunch lady. A large tray of bread rolls caught his eye, and next to that was a pot of the infamous puke chilli.

* * *

Ana looked at the chilli, it wasn't looking good, and she wasn't a great fan of Mexican food. "Just the bread is good for me… Okay?" She heard a sound coming from a window, and turned immediately, but it was just the wind. Ana sighed, relieved. She was tired of shooting, fighting and hiding, all she wanted now was a peaceful night of sleep by Ben's side, but even this she wasn't sure if could get. Nightmares probably were going to hunt her this night. "All set? Can we go back now?"

* * *

"Yeeah. Ditto." Ben agreed and stuffed a couple of the bread rolls into his jacket pocket. On their way out Ben pocketed a can opener, the cans they got from supermarket weren't going to open themselves. The sudden gust of wind against the window almost gave him a heart attack. He yelped a string of curses and half-garbled words as he clutched at the side of the sink to steady himself. Fuck, this whole thing had shot his nerves to hell. "Let's just get back to the room."

Their trip back was surprisingly event free. Most of the teachers and staff had probably left to be with their loved ones when they heard about the walking dead roaming the streets.

After double-checking the lock, Ben sat down next to Ana and nibbled on a roll. It tasted better without the side of soggy mashed potatoes and slimy carrots. He took out his phone, to check his messages. Nothing…His heart sank. Were they alright?

* * *

Ana wasn't a fan of canned food, but anyway, she ate all her part. The last meal she had was about, like, 7 hours ago. The girl glanced Ben taking his phone and checking the messages, and she did the same. "I'm sorry about your family… I shouldn't had put you into this, I mean, I should had take you for your home, so you could be with then…" Her eyes widened when she was unlocked her phone. There was a voice message from her mother. Immediately, she pressed the play on it. "Ana, if you're hearing this, I really hope you and your father are alright. I really love you, hon. I really do, and your brother loves you as well. But please. Don't come back. Stay there, try to find a safe place, other people. There is no more hope for me and your brother, but I think that still having hope for you. You're strong, Ana. You're gonna get troughs this. We lov-" the message was interrupted by a scream, and finished. Ana just stood there, staring at her phone, trying to process what she just heard. Her eyes filled with tears, but she couldn't hold then now. The girl leaned at Ben, hugging him, and crying a lot, her family was, indeed, all gone.

* * *

Ben continued to stare at the screen as if focusing on it was going to bring him a text message. '_C'mon. C'mon. I know you're out there!_'

"What? No! It's not your fault. My house was too far away anyways." Ben fake smiled. It's not her fault at all. Either way, he doubted his family would even be there if he checked. He knew they were still alive. They had to be.

One of the few things Ben could do well was cling onto hope no matter how bleary the future seemed. His hopeless optimism was one of his strongest traits.

Ben finished his roll as Ana started the voice message. Eavesdropping was a rude thing to do, but he couldn't help it. The static filled voice of her mother echoed throughout the room. His eyes widened at the end. A scream and then back to the automated voice. '_No hope…_' Ana's soft sobs broke the silence that ensued. Ben wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed. A strong sense of camaraderie had already formed between them. He wasn't really sure what to say, but he got a feeling he didn't need to. Although Ana was a strong girl who could easily take down someone twice her size, she still needed someone to lean on. "It's gonna be okay."

* * *

Ana nodded. She was feeling empty now, her only family was now Ben, the guy she met on the beginning of the day, and when all the world was gone to hell, he was there. Helping her, somehow. The girl leaned her head on Ben's shoulder, and hold his hand. She was stressed, sad, broken. Ana closed her eyes, and fell asleep in a second.

* * *

Was it weird to feel so attached to someone you had only met that afternoon? After a good cry, Ana fell asleep. Even when he set her down and pulled her jacket over her she didn't wake up. She must've been exhausted.

Ben lay next to her and looked up at the ceiling. The blank tiles made a good projector screen for his imagination as he made up scenarios where his parents and sister finally got his text message and were driving to the school. They'd pull up and honk the horn. Then he'd wake Ana up and rush to his family car. All 5 of them would live together in some isolate place to wait the whole thing out. '_And they lived happily ever after._' Ben finished in his head.

A tear rolled down the side of his face, followed by a few more until he was quietly sobbing. Was there such thing as a 'happily ever after' in an Apocalypse? Or maybe it was just an eternal nightmare. All he wanted was to see his mother, and his father and his sister. After his crying finally died down, Ben reluctantly closed his eyes. He prayed that he'd wake up in his room and realize that today was all a bad dream. But he also prayed that if he did, Ana would remember him.

* * *

Ana was expecting to have nightmares on that night, but the opposite happened. She dreamed with her family, they were in a beautiful field, the day was pretty and they were all happy, and Ben was there too. In the dream, she ran to him, and hugged him. They were just standing there hugging each other for a long time until her family approach and compliment him. It was a good dream…

She woke up in the chemistry class again, on a cold floor, and feeling kinda confused. Ben was sleeping by her side, his face showed that he cried last night. Ana seated and looked trough the window. It was weird out there. There was a heavy fog in the sky, different from the morning of the last day, and there was people on the streets, well, not people anymore.

The girl turned her head to Ben again, and hold his shoulder gently "Ben? Good morning" Last night Ana was praying for all that to be a bad dream, but she didn't wanted to wake up and find out that she never met Ben.

Ann was happy that he was there.


	11. Chapter 11

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

A soft nudge and a 'good morning' woke him up. "Huh? Uh, good morning." Ben drawled out. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. As he regained his senses, he smiled back at Ana, "How was your night? With all this shit goin on I'm glad I didn't get any nightmares." Surprisingly, all Ben could remember from his dreams was when an uneventful bus ride with Ana. Instead of crashing and getting attacked like yesterday, the two had safely made it home. He missed dreaming.

Ben reluctantly stood up. He was still a bit groggy, but today they had a choice: Either stay here and try to wait this whole thing out or venture forth and try to find a place that was safer. Maybe the government already issued a quarantine. "Hey I was wondering, do you think we should…Go outside? Maybe the government already started doing something. Maybe they're gathering survivors?" Ben suggested.

* * *

"I didn't had nightmares either" she said smiling, while thinking about her dream.

When Ben asked if she wanted to go outside, she raised a eyebrow, would it be a good idea? "Well, Ben… do you think they're doing this? I don't have high hopes about it, and the streets are crowded with walkers, but… alright" She stood up, and dressed her plaid shirt, jacket and the holster with her weapons again.

"Let's eat something before we go, and… huh… go to the bathroom maybe"

* * *

"I dunno. I guess I just don't wanna miss anything." He knew this was a huge risk. By now the streets were probably filled to the brim with walkers and shady people. But it was better than getting left behind. "Sounds good." Ben agreed and took out a few rolls from last night. "Want one?" he offered one out to Ana.

Ben quickly ate his before he turned towards the door and peeked through the narrow window. Nothing seemed to be outside. "Hey Ana, I'm going to the bathroom for a bit."

* * *

She smiled when Ben offered the food "Aye" Ana took one of the bread rolls and started eating.

Ana frowned and walked to the door when Ben told he was going to the bathroom. "I'm going too" The girl opened the door and looked at the corridor, there was no sight of anyone, or anything there.

The bathrooms wasn't far from there, so they managed to get in a minute or so with no problems. "Are you with your pistol?" she said before get into the girl's bathroom.

* * *

"Yep. Got mine." He checked to see if the safety was off. "Alright be careful." Ben nodded as he entered the boy's room.

He slowly stepped in and tried to silence his footsteps. Nothing was making any weird noises so he seemed to be alone in the bathroom. Before doing his business he checked under the stalls. Alright, no feet. Good good. He hastily turned towards the urinal and paused for a second. Fuck, were those footsteps outside?

* * *

"Okay, then. You be careful too" Ana opened the door and got in. She had her bow prepared for the case of anything happen. She was walking carefully, her eyes cautiously looking at every corner of the place, but looks like it was clear. After she do what had to be done, she started analyzing her own face in the mirror.

She wasn't looking so bad after the night of sleep. Her cheeks were pink again, and the paleness was gone. Ana rubbed her eyes and looked at the cut on her forehead, it was almost completely closed now. "I hope this doesn't make a scar" she thought.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps out of the bathroom, and, like in a reflex, prepared her bow again.

* * *

Ben sighed and shook his head. He couldn't even get a breather to take a piss. Inching forward, Ben slowly peeked over the corner. Shitshitshit. It was another one of them. Ben's grasp on the gun got tighter. But if he used it, he might attract every walker in the school. He opted for Ana's knife instead and peeked out again. His blood ran cold as the zombie had moved right in front of him. "FUCK!" Ben yelped as he stabbed at the monster but only managed to catch it in the shoulder. The zombie continued to try and move forward. "S-s-stop." He knew that it was pointless to reason but his contemporary habits showed through.

* * *

Ana opened a little crack in the door and looked through it, and she could see another person, a walker.

"SHIT!' She screamed when saw Ben being attacked. The girl quickly opened the door and aimed on the creature's head. Her hands shaked a little and she accidentally, dropped the arrow. That wasn't time to try another, the walker turned his head and tried to catch her. She jumped back, and fell seated on the floor, and before the undead man attacked her, Ana got her pistol and shot his head.

The man fell above her, and she got stuck there. "Little help here? Also, are you alright?" the girl said, looking for Ben.


	12. Chapter 12

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

The zombie lunged for him again but barely missed him. Using his long legs, he managed to shove it away with a swift kick to the gut. The monster tumbled backwards onto its back leaving Ben with a perfect opportunity. He yelled out as he stabbed the knife right into the undead man's left eye. Blood and some of the eye fluid started to dribble down its decaying face. Ugh…He was never going to get used to this. A sudden gun shot grabbed his attention. "An-Ana?!" Shit were there more of them? Ben rushed outside and into the girl's bathroom. Ana legs peeked under a large form. Ohshitohshit! Ben grabbed the figure by its collar and dragged it off of her. "U-um…I'm fine. Y-you?" he stammered, still shaken from the sudden ambush.

* * *

"Thank you, I'm fine" she said standing up again and getting her fallen arrow. "All set up to go now? Lets get back to the classroom to take the backpack and the remaining things" They walked back to the chemistry room, with no worries, besides the fact Ana almost fell down when stumbled in the corridor. She waited for Ben to get all the things. "So, Ben. I think it's a good idea do us to look for supplies. There's a pharmacy near here, right? We never know when we will need medicine"

* * *

Ben nodded and followed closely behind Ana. Looks like he'll just have to take a piss in the bushes.

The chemistry room was still empty and seems like nothing had sneaked in while the two were out. After gathering what they needed the pair started to head out the high school. "Yep, there's one not too far from here. I think it's like…One or two blocks away?" he scratched his head. It didn't seem too far but how many zombies would be in that small distance.

* * *

"Okay. Lets go then" she opened the door of the chemistry room and started walking with Ben back to the entrance. She stopped for some seconds to analyze the situation on that street. It wasn't too crowded with walkers, there was 7 of then stumbling their dead bodies near there. It wouldn't be hard to take then down, but the best idea would use stealth, going quietly and unnoticeable to the pharmacy. "Ben, we will go trough the right sidewalk, there are less walkers by that way." She got her knife, holding it firmly. Ana started walking and paying attention to every one of the zombies, but looked like none if then noticed their presence.

* * *

Ben sighed at the sight of the zombies stumbling across the street. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. "Alright, be careful." Ben whispered agreeing with using stealth. He slowly walked behind Ana trying his best to keep his clumsy footsteps quiet. Despite his best efforts, Ben accidentally kicked an empty soda can. The metallic clang wasn't too loud, but to him it sounded like an alarm…Or maybe the dinner bell. Shit.

* * *

Ana got distracted by the sound of the metal. She stumbled in a rock and fell on the ground. "Holy shit, Ben!" The girl whispered, looking back, and then, turning her vision to the walkers again. Looks like none of then noticed the sound, and she sighed, relieved. "Be more careful" she whispered, getting on her feet again. They kept walking to the pharmacy, taking all the care for no one to see then. That's when she looked at the street where the store was. It was crowded with dozens of then. "Looks like where not going there…" She looked at every side o the street, and noticed a alley near the pharmacy, there was a ladder there. "That's it! Maybe we can get there by the rooftops! What do you think?"

* * *

"S-sorry!" Ben whispered. He let out a small sigh of relief once it was obvious that the zombies hadn't noticed them. That was way too close. He could've gotten them both killed. The thought made him guiltily look up at Ana; if something had happened to her and it was his fault…Ben let that thought trail off and continued the walk to the pharmacy, albeit more carefully this time.

* * *

The crowd of walkers in front of the pharmacy made his hear sink a bit. Now what? Ana's suggestion made sense. There could get in through the roof and those things probably didn't have the brains to climb a ladder. "Good thinking. That's probably the best way in." Ben smiled. Now just to figure out how to get past that crowd of hungry death.

* * *

"Alright. We will have to run for it" She hold Ben's hand, got her knife, and prepared to run the fast as she could.

"Now!" Ana started running and pulling Ben with her. The walkers immediately noticed their presence and started stumbling toward them. The pair got in the alley very quickly, without the zombies getting to close.

"You go first!" she said pointing to the ladder. "I'll cover here" Ana said, catching her gun.

* * *

Stealth definitely wasn't an option here. "Alright." Ben reluctantly agreed. He didn't like this idea, but not like there was anything else he could do. Right on cue, Ben bolted for the alleyway behind Ana. The zombies noticed their prey and started to shamble towards them, but they were faster. Ana stopped in front of the ladder and motioned him to go first. Having no time to argue, Ben desperately started to climb. Each rung was rough from use giving him an easy grip, but no matter how fast he climbed it felt like it took hours to get up to the top. "ANA! C'MON!" he screamed back at her to climb once he managed to make it up to the roof.

* * *

Ana started shooting the walkers while Ben was going up. She would kill at least 6 in that time. When he shouted her to go up, she immediately kept the gun on her holster and started climbing up the ladder. The girl got up with no problem, but the time to get there seemed like a eternity.

"You're alright?" she asked worried. The pharmacy was very close now, and they would need to jump from one building to another to get there. Ana looked down to the alley. Dozens of walkers were babbling down there.

"Well, no way to get back now. Lets go"

* * *

The amount of zombies that had gathered below them was dizzying. Fear started to spread around his gut and whispered to his legs to run. Luckily, they only trembled in response before he could do anything too rash. "Uh…Yeah." Ben nodded and followed Ana.

He peeked over the roof they were currently on. They weren't ridiculously high up and a fall would just cause some soreness and maybe a bruise or two. That is, if the zombies didn't get him first. Ben took deep breaths to calm his nerves and turned to Ana, "I-I'll go first. I can probably make the jump." He glanced back to the adjacent roof and took a few steps back. Just don't trip. Don't fall. Don't fuck up. Ben sprinted towards the edge and was airborne for a second or two before roughly landing on the other roof. He made it.

* * *

Ana got some steps back, preparing to jump for the other roof. If Ben made it, she could make it too. She started sprinting, and jump. The girl got too much impulse for the jump and, when she got in the other roof, she stumbled with Ben they both fell. Well, at least she could do the jump with no problem.

Ana smiled awkwardly to Ben, she was fallen over him. "S-Sorry…" the girl said, trying to stand up again, stunned with the impact of their bodies.

"Well.. we're almost there now" she said, looking to the pharmacy.


	13. Chapter 13

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Ben made sure he was close enough to the ledge to be able to catch Ana is her jump fell short. However, she made it, although she fell…On him. "Uh, it's o-okay." Ben stammered. He could feel his face heat up. Fuck, why couldn't he ever control his blush? Ana's face was so close to his. He could see the small almost invisible freckles that dusted her cheeks. His face flushed into a deeper shade of red. Ben slowly got out from under her and helped her up; now wasn't the time for this.

"Alright, just a little bit more." Ben encouraged.

* * *

Ana's cheeks flushed deeply with the fall, and her heart accelerated. Her face went so close from Ben's, like if they were about to kiss… She shook her head. "No time for this kind of thing right now" she thought

The girl nodded and prepared to jump again. "I'll go first this time". She ran and jumped again, getting on the other building. The pharmacy was the next stop.

Ana came a little closer from the edge, in a distance were she could get Ben if his jump wasn't enough. "C'mon, Ben!" she said, waiting for him to come

* * *

The gap this time was a little wider which worried him. Ana made it past just fine so he could too right? Ben muttered a few words of encouragement to himself before he sprinted towards the edge. Both his feet left the roof, but he realized too late that he was falling short. Gravity started to pull him down before he could reach the other side. SHIT! Ben flailed his arms out in hope of grabbing something solid. Luckily he caught the rusty gutter on the side of the roof, but the metal groaned and popped unable to support the extra 196 pounds. In one last ditch effort, Ben shot his arm up to grab something, anything to keep him from falling.

* * *

Ana jumped to the floor, half of her body was out of the building. "BEN! Hold on!" She extended her arms, and managed to grab Ben's hand before the rusty gutter fall off. "Gotcha!" she smiled, pulling him up again. Her arms were strong, but she had to make a struggle to pull him completely.

When he got up again, Ana hugged him, and buried her face on his chest. "You scared the hell out of me" she whispered, and looked up at Ben's face. With that, she felt her cheeks burning. Ana definitely needed to learn how to blush less frequently.

She rubbed the back of her head, awkwardly, and looked down at the other side. The pharmacy was down there, and there was no sight of walkers around anymore. Great!

* * *

Ben's fingers brushed against Ana's before he felt himself fall. But before a scream could escape his lips, Ana somehow managed to snag his wrist. She managed to pull him up onto the roof where he fell onto his stomach. His breaths came out in short gasps as he processed the fact that he was only a couple feet and one lucky save away from death. Ben shakily got up and was immediately embraced by Ana, "Uh, sorry? But, thanks f-for saving m-me back there." His apology came out more as a question.

He joined Ana's side along the ledge. "So just go down, get into the pharmacy, then out, I guess." Ben outlined their plan of action. He slowly let himself down, his long legs easily took the shock of the small fall. Looks like the zombies didn't even notice their prey had escaped. He waited for Ana and extended his arms out, his palms facing the sky, as a silent gesture to catch her.

* * *

Ana slipped down, and her legs hurt a little with the impact, stunning her, but she hold herself into Ben's arms before she could fell with her face on the ground. "Thanks" the girl said, catching some air again.

The walkers haven't even noticed that they escaped, what gave then more time to get the things and get out without alert the undead again. Ana walked to the door, it was opened, and some of shelves were already empty. Looks like someone else had the same idea.

"C'mon. Let's take some basic things, you know: bandages, antibiotics, painkillers…"

* * *

Although it seemed like someone else got in before they did, hopefully the essentials were still there. "Gotcha." Ben nodded and proceeded to go down the painkiller aisle. He grabbed whatever seemed useful, Advil, Tylenol. Now for the antibiotics. They were probably in the back; Maybe they weren't locked up.

* * *

"Can you take a look back there for the antibiotics? I'll be here looking out for the door, in the case the get back" She said, getting her bow and preparing it. "Oh, and take your gun with you. We never when something will attack us"

As Ben went away to look for the medicine, her head filled with thoughts about everything that was happening. When thinking she usually just started staring blankly at something and forgetting about the present. She stood there until Ben get back


	14. Chapter 14

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Fuck. Of course it was locked. The metal cabinet showed signs that someone had tried to break in using brute force. A small bottle of antibiotics peeked through the unbreakable glass taunting him. It giggled at his frustration. Ben gave out another harsh sigh before leaning against the counter. The key. The key. It had to be here somewhere. Ben traced the shape of the keyhole as if that was going to magically open it. Maybe the pharmacist had it?

Ben continued to look around. He looked high and low until…He found the pharmacist. Her once white lab coat was stained with splatters of her own blood. The white sterile tiles were stained with red, the pattern reminiscent of a moth spreading its wings. Ben knelt in front of the corpse and fished around her pockets until his hand touched something metal. The key! Yes now to-A hand grabbed his wrist, followed by a low growl.

* * *

Ana suddenly heard a groan that brought her back to the reality. She turned her head and called for Ben "Ben? Are you alright there?". No answer… "BEN?!" she started running for the sound, when she saw the undead pharmacist trying to attack Ben.

Ana immediately got her knife, she couldn't risk the noise of a gunshot now, and jumped on the women, stabbing her head, before she could bite his's neck.

"Holy shit, that was close" she said, struggling to take the knife out the pharmacist's cranium.

* * *

"Wha-?" Ben blubbered out before he felt himself being tugged onto the ground. "Ah-n-st-" He could barely form the words as his mind screeched to a halt. Time slowed as the undead pharmacist reared her ugly head. She bared her teeth and got closer to his neck. Tears pooled in his eyes as he realized what was coming. _'I-I'm sorry…_' he whimpered internally, not really sure who he was apologizing to.

A flash of silver knocked the zombie into the wall. Ana stood over him, the light above shined down on her, forming a shadow over her face. He owed Ana his life several times over already, he was surprised that she hadn't sprouted wings and claimed to be his guardian angel yet.

* * *

Ana could release the knife from the dead women's forehead, with a struggle, but she could do it. She looked at Ben, and sighed, putting the knife back on the holster. "Did she bite you?" It doesn't looked like it, but she needed to ask for precaution.

"Y-you need to be more careful, Benny…" she said, and flushed about how she accidentally called him "I-I men… Ben… whatever…" Ana looked down, ashamed

* * *

Ben sat up and did a quick check of himself, "N-no…Thank god." A zombie bite would've been a painful way to go. "Yeah, I kn-Benny?" Ben repeated. That was a nickname his mother had made up for him. '_Benny, come down for dinner~_' her voice rang through his memories. A name that he used to scoff at now meant something entirely different to him. It was a simple reminder of what he had lost. He missed his mother…"Mom…"

* * *

Ana looked up at Ben's face noticing that his eyes suddenly turned sad. She hold his shoulder and kissed his cheek softly, as a way to say '_I'm sorry' _She wasn't sure if the way she called Ben offended him or if it brought sad memories. "Well… Lets get the things and get out… You got the key, right?"

* * *

A pair of lips found they way on his cheeks followed by a burning sensation that spread across his face. Fuck, there he was again, blushing like an idiot. "S-sorry about that." he murmured. He wasn't really sure what he was apologizing for. At least he had the key. "Yeah, I got it." he smiled down at the key in his hand. Ben stood back up and walked towards the cabinet. With a click and then a creak, the cabinet doors opened. Ben took out the antibiotics and smiled over at Ana, "Guess we can finally leave."

* * *

"I guess we can" she smiled. "But… where do we go now?" she said, confused. They hasn't planned the next step yet.

Ana walked to the front door and checked the street, looks like it was clean. The undead wasn't back, for their luck.

* * *

"I think we should try to look for any clues on what everyone else did. I doubt the government would just leave us here. They might have sent search parties for survivors." Ben placed the pills in his backpack and added, "They might have signs or something that leads to a quarantine center." He started to think about the movie he watched a couple nights ago: 'The Crazies'. If it were like in that, maybe the government already started to herd the survivors together. And hopefully, not 'neutralize' them as they had said in the movie.

* * *

"Do you think so? Well… then where do we start to look? Main street? It must be crowded now! And crowded places aren't good" She crossed her arms "I honestly think we should go to a isolated place, it's safer. I don't have much faith in the government… "

Ana leaned on the wall and looked serious at Ben "Do you think, that with all this shit happening, the government would pay millions to save all of us? They would probably just get the millionaires, important people… and let us here" she shook her head. "Sorry, I'm being pessimist. If you think we should go, then… let's take a look, at least"

The girl started walking inside the pharmacy, visibly nervous and anxious. What if the government doesn't give a damn about all the people? Like in some movies, they would just let then to die. And the idea of go to crowded places scared her, because, more people = more danger, she didn't wanted Ben on a place where he could be killed even easier.

* * *

He didn't want to believe it, but a part of him knew Ana was right. Her realistic approach was probably better; however another part of him shook its head and told him to push further. "I-I dunno…I just…How about we look around just for a little. If we don't see any signs that the government was here, we leave?" Ben suggested. At least this way he'll be able to satisfy both sides of his conscience.

If Ana was right though…He didn't want to think about it, but then again that's all they talked about on the news. The rich always getting the better treatment, being able to get away with their crimes. Corruption tried to camouflage itself and on an average day, and it usually succeeded. But in times like this, the blood of those it turned a blind eye to seeped into every crack and crevice, giving away its presence.

"Well anyways, w-we should get going." he nodded to Ana and started to walk towards the exit. If he could just see one sign, maybe a helicopter flying overhead or maybe green and brown camo military pattern, just that one sign might instill hope in the two of them.

* * *

Ana reluctantly nodded. She didn't wanted to go there, risking their lives, but didn't wanted Ben to get mad at her, or try to go alone.

"Okay, Ben. We take a look, and then we leave, because I'm almost sure we won't find anything" she sighed and looked out of the door "Do you know a less exposed way to get there? Like, alleys or something?"

She crossed her arms and looked at Ben. Suddenly, her mind filled with the memory of her fallen over him, up in the rooftops after the jump, and her cheeks blushed again. "Why do I have to think about this kind of this right now?" she murmured to herself, looking down and trying to mask at least a little of her blush.


	15. Chapter 15

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

It was obvious she didn't want to go and he hated having to push her, but he wanted to continue to cling to that small sliver of hope, just because that's what he did best. Push further and further until he had nothing left to lose. It was self-destructive but he was so used to it.

"Okay. I promise we'll leave if things go sour or if we don't find anything." Ben nodded. He focused on a piece of broken glass on the floor as he tried to remember if there were any other routes. "Yeah…There're more alleyways, but I dunno if it's not filled with the zombies." Ben mumbled.

Ben slowly crept to the windows and peeked out. Only a few of those monsters shambled outside, but they were still far away. "If we make a run for it…We can probably make it to the back." Ben murmured to Ana. "Hey, you alright?" he asked as he noticed the red tint on her cheeks.

* * *

"I'm fine" she answered. The sound of her voice came out more dry than the normal, she was irritated and anxious, and her wound on the forehead was starting to hurt again.

Ana touched the bandage on her head, and noticed that the cut was bleeding a little. "Merda…" she said, cursing in portuguese. Sometimes, when worried or mad, she just started babbling in her first language.

The girl walked out of the pharmacy and took another look at the streets, there was a few walkers stumbling out there, but nothing that they couldn't avoid. She thought about what Ben said about the alleyways, thinking if that was really a better way to get to the Main Street. It could be even worse, and if there was much walkers they would get trapped. But she would never know if they don't try.

"Let's go then…"

* * *

The small red stain on the band-aid caught his attention. Shit, it was still bleeding out? Ben was sure it had stopped. "Hey, you alright?" Ana's face was contorted in a mix of pain and worry.

"O-Okay." Ben stammered and followed Ana through the door. The faster they find help the better. Being a local, Ben knew the winding maze of the alleyways like the back of his hand. He took the lead and after taking a few rights and lefts down the narrow pathways, they finally came out into an opening. Large white tents stood in the vast concrete field that was normally used to hold the annual fair. Military trucks littered the area with a biohazard symbol here and there.

Just like in the movies: A quarantine zone. "I think we found it." But where were all the people? The place seemed eerily quiet minus the plastic fluttering of the tents in the cool afternoon wind. Ben gingerly entered the mass of sterile white and looked around, listening for any human voices. It felt like he was in a mass grave. A mass grave of empty promises and torn hope. Had the military gave up already?

* * *

Ana hold Ben's arm when he started walking to the possibly 'quarantine zone'. She noticed that there was no sound of voices or anything, just loneliness "Ben… I told you. No one is there… I'm sorry"

She felt sad for Ben, he had high hopes about finding something, but looks like she was right after all. "Let's keep with my plan? Find somewhere isolated or something safer?"

Her head was hurting a lot now, and she suddenly felt very dizzy and had to lean on Ben "Shit… can you gimme a painkiller, please?"

* * *

"Yeah…" Ben sighed dejectedly. Of course. Fate just loved to kick him when he was down.

"Woah, you alright?!" He wasn't sure if Ana's sudden vertigo was from blood loss but he got the pain killers out anyway. "Do you need to rest?" Ben asked as he carefully handed the pill to Ana.

Even if this place was devoid of life, there still might be supplies left. And maybe a place for Ana to rest.

* * *

Ana quickly took the pill and swallowed it. "Thanks. I need to stop slowing us down, but I guess I'm not completely good after yesterday's blood loss, so, a place to rest would be good" she said. The girl started analyzing the place. It was abandoned, but maybe whoever was there might have left some things back "hey, huh, wanna look for some supplies inside there? Maybe I can find a place to take a little break"

* * *

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Ben nodded and led Ana to a nearby tent.

Just as expected, the inside was empty. The plastic walls swayed in and out like a breathing animal. Rows of sterile white beds where lined up, however each showed signs of life as the blankets were balled up and the pillows had indents. So people were here. But…Where had they all gone? An uneasy feeling started to rise from this new revelation.

Ben turned at Ana and nervously stammered, "I-I think I should look around…This place g-gives me the creeps. You wanna wait here till I come back?"

It didn't make any sense. Why would they just suddenly evacuate a bunch of people, and then just…Leave?

* * *

"No… I'll go with you. It's dangerous to go alone." Ana took her pistol and loaded it. It would be better to use her bow, but her arms were hurting too much for this.

She walked, reluctantly, by Ben's side, analyzing the place. Looks like there was people on that area not too long ago. "What do you think that happened? Did they… evacuated?"


	16. Chapter 16

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

"I don't know…But I get a real bad feeling." Honestly, Ben wasn't sure why he was feeling so on edge. But just the way the blankets were balled up and how some of them littered the floor signified that the bed ridden patients were had left in a rush.

He turned and started to check each of the tents. All of them were identical. Sterile white, messy beds, but nothing else. Judging from the amount of beds, this place was meant to house an army of people.

A large white tent caught his attention as he and Ana continued to traverse through the graveyard of plastic and concrete. "Maybe they keep the supplies there." Ben absentmindedly mumbled to himself. He approached the entrance, and his first cue to turn around and leave was the pungent smell that emanated from the tent. However, curiosity drew him forward, reminiscent of a moth to a flame, drawn towards anything that could burn or scar.

Ben gingerly peeked inside and what he saw horrified him. Instead of rows of white beds, there was a messy grave of crimson. Blood spattered everywhere. Bodies littered the inside, their arms curled protectively over them in a state of rigor mortis. A silent mass of death and his personal grave of his optimistic hope.

"No…" He continued to stare agape. A mass execution. It finally dawned on him that the government didn't come here to save them. They came here with the order to kill.

* * *

Ana's head was hurting even more with that pungent smell. It was the smell of blood… death. Something was definitely wrong with that place. She followed Ben to a big tent, and watched the guy peek up inside it, the only thing she could see in the little space was sights of red.

The girl noticed Ben's reaction and frowned. "What's wrong?" she said pulling the white cover of the tent. Ana's face instantly turned pale with the vision. There was dozens of bodies, all of then with sights of a violent death. Their crimson blood splattered in almost every inch of the place.

She hold Ben's arm, pulling his jacket. Her vision was turning black again, and her legs going numb. "W-we need to get…out-" Ana heard a high pitched noise coming through her ears, and fell on the ground, unconscious.

* * *

This can't be happening. The government WASN'T killing their own people. No…That's not how the world works right?

Ben's naivety continued to feed him lies although the truth was right in front of him. Uncovered and opened up, it's ugly insides spilled out, just like the blood of the innocents.

Ana approached him, her own curiosity drew her towards the tent. He wanted to pull her away or yell at her to stop, but he continued to stand there agape. "A-An…" he whimpered out in a weak effort to stop her. His voice escaped him.

He felt her tug on his jacket as the sight of such a horrific crime weighed down on her. She started to lose her consciousness and fell to the ground. Ben's own legs were giving out and he was soon reduced to sitting on his knees. His eyes never left the tent. He couldn't look away. Kneeling there, he felt so small compared to the massive tent, so small compared to the corruption that took those peoples' lives. Those people died as martyrs, furthering Ben's belief that now they were truly alone.

Without another glance, Ben stood up and carried Ana out of the quarantine zone. They were alone. No one was coming to help them. Forgotten and thrown away, they were left for dead. A sad diagnosis.

* * *

Ana's consciousness started getting back, and she tried opening her eyes, but all she could see was blurry. She felt like waking up from a terrible nightmare. Her heard was hurting as well as her chest.

The memory of the massacre on the tent came back to Ana. So it wasn't a nightmare? They really killed all that people? She noticed that Ben was carrying her out of the quarantine zone.

"… Why? Why would they kill all those people?" she whispered, trying to understand. It didn't make sense. Why would the military come just to kill the remanning people? Were they all infected? That didn't make sense either.

Ana leaned her head on Ben's chest and sighed sadly "I'm sorry that I fainted… That was too much for me"

* * *

Ben walked down another alleyway but not the same one they came through. Regret started to but from the fear tat he was previously experiencing. His hopes had been completely crushed underneath Fate's cruel fist. Broken and shattered, just like everything around him. At least he had some sort of closure.

A whisper brought him back to reality.

"I…Wish I knew. But I think they were afraid of the infection." Ben replied solemnly. Still, why kill everyone? Were those people even bit? He shook his head slowly at these thoughts and let Ana down.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry for dragging you there."

No hope. There was nothing left for either of them anymore. The chances of survival were so bleak, the chances of their families' survival were even bleaker. He grit his teeth in frustration. Every bit of him wanted to scream and cry. The weight sat on his shoulders taking on the form of those dead open eyes. There was no hope. He wanted to dig his fingernails into his arms until they bled. Instead a forced whisper broke his silent internal war,

"I hate this…"

* * *

"Me too… but we're lucky we didn't get here earlier. God know what could have happened to us…"

Ana looked up, the sky was still with a heavy fog on it, very different from the day before. "I can't believe this shit started yesterday… seems like an eternity to me" she said, looking back at her boots, now kinda red because of the blood splattered on it. She thought about her family, and how all her life came down so fast. It was weird how bare her memories was, like if all her life had been like that, running away, hiding, fighting for her life.

A distant sound made Ana's mind come back to reality. She could hear the screams of a women, far from where they were. She could hear the sounds of motor, and gun shots. It sounded unreal, like if she was in one of the video games she used to play.

Ana tried listening better, and she could noticed that the women probably wasn't screaming at the walkers… maybe the military had killed her. The thought made her freeze in horror. Were they killing everyone that got out? Thinking that the people was infected? If so, Ben and her was getting into a even more serious situation.

Since the incident on the weapon shop, she learned that she needed to fear the living more than the dead. People were loosing their minds, and they were a lot more dangerous now, because, like Ben and Ana, they were going to do everything and anything to survive.

Ana hold Ben's arm, she was now alert to every sound and move around they. The motor sound and gunshots were getting near, it was a matter of time until the military get them both "We need to get out of here, fast!"


	17. Chapter 17

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Gunshots? Screaming? Panic grabbed hold of him, it snaked an arm around his waist and a hand across his mouth. Words escaped him.

They're killing…People. A sudden pang of disgust and fear gnawed at him. How could they? His eyes brimmed with emotion.

Ben followed closely behind Ana.

"THERE'S TWO OF THEM HERE!" a gruff male voice screamed out.

"GO! GO!" Ben yelled and started to run faster. He wasn't going to die. Not like this. Not at the hands of another man.

Heavy footsteps followed after them; the jingling of metal and the crunches of the metal-toed combat boots only further increased Ben's panic. He felt like a criminal. His only crime was surviving.

* * *

"SHIT!" She yelled and started running faster. She could hear the sound of the metal-toed boots running behind them. The girl turned her head slightly and saw the man aiming at her, immediately jumped to the floor and heard the shot passing above her head. That was close.

She stood up started running again, taking her gun. The girl spotted a opened door of a uncompleted building at their right, and pulled Ben with her. They both got into the building and Ana closed the rusted metal door, locking it.

The place was decrepit, with unfinished walls and completely abandoned, like if nothing ever lived there.

The man started shouting and trying to open the door, there was no other routes, like windows, so the only place that Ben and Ana would have to worry about was that door. But doesn't looked like it would hold too much.

"C'mon! Let's go to the second floor, maybe we can find somewhere to get out and run away" she whispered to Ben.

* * *

Bursts of gunfire sounded behind him followed by a burning pressure on his shoulder. The shock of getting shot for the first time completely numbed the pain.

"OPEN THE DOOR!"

"GET THE DOOR OPEN!"

The soldiers' shouts and the metallic pounding grated on his ears as it echoed throughout the room. It felt surreal. The very people he was taught as a child to look up to, to admire, were trying to riddle him with bullets. Ben put a hand to his injured shoulder now slick with his own blood. He could still move it, so it hadn't gone through any bone. What bothered him more was that that wound became a reminder that life was never going to be the same again.

The only light in the large room shined in from the outlines of the door. Shadows of feet interrupted the line of light as the soldiers continued to try and kick the door down.

"Yeah. Maybe a fire exit?" he suggested.

He could only see vague outlines but he could identify some of them. Was that…A ladder?

* * *

Ana looked at Ben and noticed the blood coming from his shoulder. She felt like her heart had stopped for a second when looked at his wound, after all, she feared that Ben could somehow get hurt and she couldn't save him. But it was a bullet, still less lethal than a bite. "Oh god, Ben…" She said, pressing his wound with her hands while her eyes looked for a escape route. "I'm going to fix this for you… Just… Hold on" The only light in the room was coming from behind the door, and the light illuminated something that was in the wall, a ladder. Perfect! Now they could escape, but… What about Ben's wound? "Do you think you can do it? Please try" Her hands were now covered with his blood. The vision made some tears come to Ana's eyes. Just the possibility of the bullet plus the blood loss killing him was already getting her panicking. She lead Ben to the ladder and helped him, but at the moment, she heard a slam in the door. They were almost getting in.

* * *

The sudden pressure to his wound brought out a wince.

"Th-Thanks."

Ben squinted in the darkness up at the ladder. The dim light barely illuminated the rungs but he could tell that it went very high up.

He nodded in response, "Don't worry 'bout me. My arm doesn't hurt that much. I'll be able to climb."

The incessant banging took on a different pitch. The door was getting close to its breaking point. He could even hear speck of rust hitting the concrete floor as the stiff hinges started to break.

"Shit! We gotta go!"

Ben started the long ascent up. Each rung felt smooth, the cool metal gentle on his sweating palms, clean as if the ladder had been recently used. He had no idea where this ladder led to, but anywhere was better than getting shot. Adventurous excitement started to swell in him, despite the situation.

* * *

Ana waited Ben to finish climbing the ladder and went behind him. In the moment that she was finally getting into the upper level, she heard a loud noise. The soldiers finally got in.

"Oh my god! What do we do now!?"

The second floor was a open and unfinished space. There was some paint cans and construction stuff spread through the floor. She could see all the street from there, and it would be easy to run away now.

She could hear the sound of the metal covered combat boots of the soldiers getting closer. Was that the end? Her eyes started trying to find something that could slow them down. Her eyes locked at old gasoline can and a lighter. That was unusual, but at the same time, perfect!

She took both things and started spreading the gasoline it on the ground, near the ladder and praying for it to work.

The girl took some distance and turned on the lighter, that little flame could be their scape ticket, so it better work. In the moment she saw the head of the first soldier getting in, she trowed the lighter.

The gasoline on the ground immediately burned and a big fire wall making a split between the soldier and Ben and Ana.

That was their chance to escape


	18. Chapter 18

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Ben trembled under all the pressure brought upon by the clanging footfalls as the soldiers gained on them.

"THERE THEY ARE!" a gruff voice shouted behind him.

_Please…No, don't do this. We never did anything wrong. _

The clangs got louder. Metal jingled like dull chimes blowing in the middle of a hurricane. Their footsteps changed once the soldier made it onto different ground sprinting towards them. And suddenly-fire.

A flurry of red danced in front of him, emanating an intense heat. The man gave a shout of surprise before backing away. Ben's thought processes screeched to a halt.

* * *

"C'mon!" Ana grabbed Ben's hand and pulled him with her, jumping out of the building. The impact made Ana's legs hurt, like it her bones were about to break. "Shit" she cursed. The girl started running again, pulling Ben with her, she knew that he was hurt and this was probably getting him worse, but she needed to take them out of there. Luckily, the day was with a heavy fog, so it would be even more difficult for the soldiers to spot them again. Ana looked for a place for Ben and her to stay, and found a little abandoned motel, that seemed perfect for them to rest, and for her to take care of Ben's wounds. "Hey, I'm gonna patch you up, okay?" She said, hugging Ben before they got into the motel.

* * *

Before he could figure out what was going on, Ben felt a tug then being airborne. A scream tried to escape his throat but was pulled back by surprise. The wind whistled in his ears as he made the painful descent down onto the rough concrete ground. He landed on all fours, his knees hitting the concrete after breaking the fall with his hands and feet. The impact jolted up from his wrists into his shoulders while his hands quickly became cut up from the jagged rock.

"Shit…" Ben groaned and fell onto his side.

After a minute of recuperating, he reluctantly got up. It didn't seem like he had broken any bones, but the fall was definitely going to keep him sore for a couple days.

"What now?"

He let the question out quietly, a low whisper, letting it linger. That question carried a heavy sadness he couldn't explain. Not knowing what was going to happen was terrifying. Not knowing what to do was even worse.

Ben couldn't return the hug since he didn't want to get any of his blood on Ana, although she probably wouldn't have minded. He nodded in agreement and limped after her to the motel.

* * *

Ana prepared her gun and carefully opened the Motel's door. The main hall was beautiful and silent, with a crystal chandelier and fancy furniture. The girl held Ben's hand and walked through the stairs that leaded to the second floor.

She didn't hear any noises besides their footsteps; looked like everyone evacuated. Ana inspected some doors before get into the biggest suite in the place. Everything was really abandoned.

The girl sat Ben on the big bed of the room and started to awkwardly unbutton his jacket. "… Hey… can you take your hoodie off? I'm going to look for a fist aid kit on the bathroom while you do it. I'll see if I can find more comfortable clothes for us too"

Ana walked to the bathroom, it was enormous and had a big bathtub. She looked at herself, disgusted by her look "Ugh, I really need a bath later"

Behind the sink, she could find a little first aid kit, with bandages, antiseptic and gauze. This and the antibiotics plus the painkillers would to the job.

Back at the room, inside the wardrobe, she found some clothes that would fit her and Ben: A black tank top and green shorts for her, and a blue shirt and a comfortable pair of black pants to him. That would be good for them to pass the night

She headed back to Ben "All set… I think the best thing would take the bullet off, but… I don't think I can do this…" she didn't knew much about how to take care of wounds. Her mother was a doctor, but she never really had interest about that, she now regretted this.


	19. Chapter 19

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Not even a whisper of another human being. Compared to the clamour of shouts and deadly weapons, the motel was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Only their muffled footsteps sounded as the two made their way deeper into the motel.

Ana stopped to open a door, polished wood gleaming along with the gold frame and the shiny three-digit number engraved under the peephole. The suite was large and very luxurious. Beds were made without a wrinkle and the room was spotless. A welcome contrast from the outside world. With each step Ben took into the room, it felt like he was dragging some of the destruction he carried on him into the precise organization. Every speck of dirt he tracked would somehow taint the vacuumed carpets, the stench of blood permeated the clean air.

A sharp pain jolted from his shoulder as Ana unbuttoned his jacket.

"Shi-O-Okay…" Ben nodded and started to take his hoodie off.

The cloth stuck to his skin from the dried blood forcing him to painfully yank it off of him. He got a better look at the wound: a large valley that continued along his shoulder. Ripped and shredded, rusty red smeared the edges and a few bits of metallic luster gleamed through the blood. Ben fought the urge to gag at the sight.

"Huh? Oh th-thanks. Shit I think there's some metal in my arm…Fuck!" Ben yelped.

Pain jolted through his arm with each small movement now that the adrenaline died down. When he stopped moving, a low rhythmic drum beat flared and receded down his arm.

"Okay.I-I trust you. But is….Is it g-gonna hurt?"

* * *

"I'm not gonna lie.. it's going to hurt, probably" Ana said, and seated on the bed, taking the things to fix Ben. She looked better at the wound, it wasn't too deep, and the bullet was stuck with a little part of it coming out of the skin.

Inside the medkit there was a tweezer that could be used for that. Ana pressed the edges of the wound making the bullet get even more out. She carefully grabbed the metal with the tweezer and yanked it off with a single tug. "s-sorry" That probably hurt a lot

The bullet was a 10mm, not enough to do much damage, but the hole on Ben's skin immediately started dripping blood. Ana put the antiseptic on the gauze and started cleaning it, pressing the wound.

That was enough to make the bleeding stop, so she took the bandages and started covering it.

"W-well… that's it, feeling better?" she stood up and helped Ben to lay on the bed, he needed to rest after all.

"I'm going to take a bath, shout if you need something. But I'll try to be fast, okay? You can go after me if you want" the girl said, taking the clean clothes and heading to the bathroom again.

There was some bottles of shampoo and conditioner for the hair, like in every hotel, and an amazing lavender scented bath soap. She quickly took her clothes off and turned on the shower. The water was amazingly hot, what made Ana's muscles relax and her mind calm down.

After cleaning her body and hair, she dressed the clothes she found on the wardrobe and headed again to Ben. The lavender scent of her skin immediately took the room, making it even more comfortable.

The girl seated by Ben's side and took a look at the wound, it had stopped bleeding, in one or two days it would be completely closed. "Thanks god you're gonna be alright" she smiled, taking the wet hair out of her face and placing it behind her ears.

She looked at herself, blushing, kinda ashamed that those clothes were so tight on her body because of her damp skin. "You can go take a bath now… Your clothes are already there. I'll try to clean our normal clothes later."

"Alright…I'm ready." Ben nodded and bit down on the sleeve of his hoodie.

* * *

No pain no game right? Ben grit his teeth as Ana pulled the bullet from his arm. He could feel blood run down his arm which caused him to bite down harder. The antiseptic burned, leaving his arm with a raw clean pain. At least infection was out of the picture.

Ben let go of the hoodie and winced, "T-thanks. Yeah, much better."

A dull pain shot down his arm once he tried to experimentally move it. He couldn't raise his arm up high, but he could manage.

"Oh uh…A bath? Th-that sounds good." Ben nodded awkwardly and watched her enter the bathroom.

Once he heard the water start he slumped down onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. It was hard to believe just yesterday he was on his way home after earning a detention; a normal day, a normal bus, and then hell on Earth. He tried not to dwell on his family or friends. Immortalized in his mind as a smile or a happy memory but never crystallized into the physical realm. All those times he joked with friends about how fun a zombie apocalypse would be. Seduced by Holly Wood, the past day's events were born from an empty wish. Spewing pain and destruction with every breath it took, the Apocalypse didn't hold the alluring action or the chaotic beauty that he was promised.

The bathroom door clicked open and Ana joined him again on the bed. Damp hair stuck to her face reminiscent of a mermaid. She checked his wound one more and gave her diagnosis.

"Awesome…" Ben breathed out. "Thanks…For everything, I mean. You've already saved my ass at least a dozen times today and yesterday." he smiled.

Ben nodded and headed towards the bathroom.

"So same deal? I'll try to be quick and you can shout if you need anything."

The bathroom was as luxurious as the suite itself. A beige marbled counter with spotless walls and a large mirror fogged up from condensation. He glanced at himself and grimaced. Multiple bruises adorned his jaw line while streaks of red ran down his pale arms.

Instead of gracing his reflection with anymore unneeded attention, Ben hastily took his clothes off and clambered into the tub. He turned on the shower until the water was to his liking. It stung his wound but it could help with the cleaning process. After quickly washing his hair and body, Ben stepped out and dried himself off. The day's dirt along with the stress washed off of him. A subtle lilac scent wafted in the room, carried by the warm fog. He redressed into his new clothes and stepped back out into the suite.

"Shit I needed that." Ben grinned and made his way over to Ana. "I guess we stay here for the night?"

* * *

Ana smiled when Ben thanked her, it was good to see how grateful he was for all what she did. "That's no problem, Ben"

She watched Ben head to the bathroom and stood up, going to take a look on the other things of the room. There was a big plasma TV on the wall, and some things on a little refrigerator, like soda and chocolate. That was the most fancy hotel she ever went in her life.

Ana took her weapons, put it above a shelve and went to take another look on the wardrobe. Inside a drawer she found a old navy sweater, it was comfy and her arms were getting a little cold, so she dressed herself with it. The sweater was at least 2 numbers bigger than her, but was still very comfortable.

She came back to the bed and seated, staring at her own hands. Even with all the luxury of that place, even after the amazing bath, she was still feeling kinda sad. Maybe she was worried about Ben's wound or missed her family already… or maybe both.

The girl remembered when she played zombie games and watched movies, she and her brother always talked about how cool would it be if a zombie apocalypse happened… they were terribly wrong. She sighed and lied her head on a pillow, looking at the ceiling.

She started to sing the music Cradle of Forest, a song from one of her favorite games. Singing always made her feel better when things were hard, maybe because of her mother…

Ben came back from the bath and she stopped singing

"**I guess we stay here for the night?" **He asked

"But of course! We need to rest, eat something, clean our clothes…. Let's stay here for the night or until we feel that is not safe" Ana replied and looked at his new clothes, they fit perfectly on him.

She stood up again, took her knife. opened the suite's door, and extended her hand for Ben to hold "Want to scavenge some food?" Ana said and winked for him. If they were lucky, the kitchen would probably have some food for them


	20. Chapter 20

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Ben gingerly took her hand and followed her out into the hallway after grabbing his handgun and knife.

"Okay…J-Just…Just be careful." he mumbled not sure if he was warning Ana or himself.

The lights were still lit bathing the walls and floor with a warm hue. Walls stretched out almost endlessly until gathering at a focal point in a reproduced painting. Ben felt a constant paranoia of a presence behind him but no matter how fast or how often he looked, he could never catch a glimpse of it.

"So…You think the kitchen's near the main lobby?" he asked. Although it did make sense. The main dining hall must be somewhere near the front right?

* * *

Ana started walking cautiously to the first floor, with one of her hands wielding the knife, and the other holding Ben's hand. "Don't worry. I'm always careful, remember?" she said and smiled.

While walking, the girl constantly felt a presence behind them, sneaking, ready to attack. Maybe was just her mind playing with her, maybe she was getting a little paranoiac. She decided to keep going without looking back, the feeling of someone else was driving her crazy.

Ana took a long breath; she and Ben were in the entrance hall again, trying to find the kitchen

"Well, I think that maybe we can get to the kitchen if go through the dining hall" she said, holding the guy's hand a little harder when heard the wind coming from a window. That hotel was comfortable, but at the same time, extremely creepy.

Ana spotted a big wooden door on the other side of the lobby and headed to it, pulling Ben with her. She carefully twisted the doorknob and opened the door.

The dining hall was amazingly beautiful, and very organized, just like the rest of the place. "Almost there…" she mumbled to herself and then looked at Ben. "Lets go" the girl said, pointing to a door on the other side, behind a stand.

She walked faster this time and abruptly opened the door. She was already getting anxious. The kitchen was clean and organized, except for some cups on the sink. There was a big cupboard on one side of the place, some freezers and a fridge.

Ana let go of the guy's hand and took a look at the cupboard, it was filled with all kind of food, the vision made Ana's mouth open, stunned. "Wow…"

She looked back at Ben, smiling. Her brown eyes shinning with happiness. "It's our lucky day!" Whoever was there was probably too desperate to think about food.

* * *

The lobby was just as they had left it. Marble tiles still polished to a brilliant sheen and no signs of the chaos diffusing into the hotel. Everything was quiet. It felt surreal as if they were in a different dimension,

Large double doors gleamed in the calm light opened without even a creak. Round tables were draped with flowing white table cloths, white in its purest shade. Polished silverware remained untouched next to embroidered napkins and expensive looking plates under a large bouquet of assorted flowers.

"Woah. Shit, this is one fancy-ass hotel." Ben murmured in awe.

He had to remind himself that time was also a luxury just as much as the decorous dining hall. The kitchen itself had its own magnificence to it. Again, pure white walls with not a single intrusion of another hue, A colour scheme of black, white, and silver all organized. A large cupboard caught his eye, there had to be food somewhere here. He stood next to Ana armed with his knife in case of anything lurking behind the doors.

Prepared for the worst, his breath was taken away from the sheer amount of food.

"Heh, you bet it is!" Ben smiled widely.

* * *

Ana started looking inside the cupboard, there was all kinds of food there! She got bread and mayonnaise for her to make a sandwich, now she just needed ham and cheese, it wasn't a very fancy meal or different thing from what she was used to eat, but it was something fast to do, so it was good anyway.

"Hey, Ben, I'm going to make a sandwich for me, want one too?" she said, putting the ingredients on a table and opening the the fridge. There was amounts of soda, juice, milk and a lot of other things, like what she was looking for. She took the ham and cheese and brought to the table again.

Ana started preparing two sandwiches and, when finished, brought them to one of the beautiful tables on the dining hall.

"Oh man, I'm starving. A sandwich would be awesome!" he smiled and continued his search for a few non-perishables he could snag.

Ben took a few can's of root beer and followed Ana back out to the dining hall. He helped her set down the food and poured her a drink before sitting in his own seat. Drinking root beer out a wine glass in the middle of a 4-star hotel wasn't really what came to mind in an Apocalypse.

"Still can't believe our luck! I mean now we got food and a place to stay." Ben smiled and took a bite out of his sandwich.

Expensive ham and cheese that was much higher in quality than anything he could afford still managed to remind him yet again of his mother. On the days she woke up early she'd go through the effort of making lunch for him. Sometimes peanut butter and jelly, other times ham and cheese. Nostalgia crawled back to him as a forgotten face now that he had the leisure of relaxing.

"This is…It's really good." he mumbled trying to hold back the sudden sadness in his chest.

A fake half-smile formed on his face. It swelled and splashed and surged against the rocky shore trying to break through his thin emotional shell. Ben trembled once it finally registered with him; he may never see his family again. He set his meal down on the plate before resting an elbow on the table and resting his face in his hand, fingers covering his eyes.

"Haha…I-I just…Never thought I'd miss her so much…"

A few tears escaped from under his fingers rolling down his cheeks. His shoulders gently shook while he tried to maintain his smile.

"Not even a goodbye…Heh…"

* * *

Ana nodded and started eating her sandwich, it was amazingly delicious, and, like Ben just said, it was a luck to have food and a good place to stay. She felt her heart filled with happiness for a moment…. maybe hope. Maybe they could pass through that and end up having a normal life again together.

The sudden happiness was washed away when she started remembering about her family, even that ham and cheese sandwich reminded the old times: When they were all too tired or even lazy to make a real meal, Ana and her mother prepared ham and cheese sandwiches to everybody. Those where good times, but the memory was painful and something inside Ana kept saying to her that those memories where useless now, that would just make her suffer. She needed to concentrate on the present, and even more on the future. Ana shook her head, hold the tears and could stop thinking about the past.

The girl looked back at Ben when he started talking again, she noticed the fake smile on his face, and how his eyes where heavy, full of tears and sadness… was he thinking the same as she was? He covered his eyes with his hand and started crying, but continued smiling. He was obviously talking about his mother.

Ana sat her sandwich back on the plate and stood up, walking to Ben's and kneeing by the side of his chair.

"B-Ben… I'm sorry…" She simply couldn't find the right words to console him.

The girl stood up and hold Ben's hands, taking them away from his face. The vision was so terrible to her, it was obviously how hurt and broken he was, but… shouldn't she be feeling like that too? She missed her family in a even worst way…

Ana looked at the guy's eyes and sighed, his blue eyes were shinning from the tears that were streaming down his face. She released one of Ben's hands and placed her hand on his cheek.

"You don't need to fake a smile, Ben… I know how it hurts, I really do. I couldn't say goodbye to my mother and my little brother, and… my father… you were there, you saw what I had to do. Ben… I miss my family a lot, just like you, but we need to forget the past now. We can't be attached to the old memories, they just broke us and make us suffer. I know it's hard to forget, but…" Ana sighed and placed her arms around Ben, hugging him.

"You don't even know how many times I thought about giving up on this last two days, every time I look at my weapons I think 'maybe if I do this… I'll be back to my family, right?'…. but then… I look at you and think how much I lo- LIKE YOU" What the hell was she about to say? The girl internally slapped herself and looked up at Ben. It was like if her heart had tried to take those words out of her mouth.

"You're the only person I have now…" Even with the urge to cry, just a single tear came to her eye and rolled down her cheek. She didn't wanted to feel like she was being weak again, she needed to be strong for Ben.

Something inside her was fighting to go out, maybe a secret wanted to be revealed… maybe what she was about to say but gave up. She leaned up, her face coming closer from Ben's until their noses touch. Ana closed her eyes and brought her mouth closer to the guy's, but a sudden guilt feeling made her stop when their lips started touching and pulled her back.

'_What am I doing? What if this hurt him even more? I want to, but… maybe that's not right thing to do. And he probably don't even like me back…'_

She let out of Ben and stumbled, siting on the ground, her cheeks burning with a mix of shame and anger for herself. "I-I'm sorry…." Ana covered her face with her hands and hold more tears. She wasn't feeling hungry anymore, all she wanted was to go to sleep and forget what happened.


	21. Chapter 21

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

He flinched as his hand was slowly removed from his face. Sad blue eyes exposed into the light while his fake smile disappeared into a miserable frown. It broke him just letting Ana see him like this while she remained so strong, even after losing so much more than he ever had. Ben buried his face into her shoulder, lips quivering in an attempt to silence the soft whimpers that threatened to escalate into sobs. He wrapped his arms around her engulfing himself into a warm protection.

Ana's confession of a lust for death still managed to surprise him although he couldn't blame her. No disdain, just empathy and understanding cultured the fidelity he felt for her. Ben slowly drew back at her small slip up, confusion peeking through his tear stained face. Another confession hidden and left unfinished.

Ben was about to ask what she meant however her actions spoke for her. The sudden closeness left him speechless. Her lips ghosted over his before pulling away. An internal struggle tainted her voice while frustration contorted her expression.

Ben knelt down next to Ana and carefully chose his words, "N-no…No it's…" It was useless, no matter what he said she'd never believe that it'd be 'okay'.

Before he could rethink his decision he gently held her hands away from her face and planted a soft kiss next to her lips.

The same sad blue eyes stared back at her. "I'm sorry." he whispered.

He left out the rest. How he was sorry that he fell in love with her. How he was sorry that he was a hopeless romantic.

* * *

She felt Ben gently holding her hands and taking then away from the girl's face, and then… a soft kiss near her lips. Ana's heart accelerated and she could feel butterflies on her stomach, she felt something growing inside her heart… maybe hope?

Her mind couldn't stop thinking about how stupid she was for falling in love, not because it was for Ben, but… why now? With everything that was happening; all the horror and the multiplied chances of dying and losing him. …Why? She had so many chances to feel something for someone during her life, why did her heart chose to get attached to a guy just when the world had gone through hell?

The girl slowly opened a smile after the gentle kiss; her cheeks had flushed deeply to a pink tone contrasting with her pale skin. She took her long brown hair, now completely dried, from her face and tied it with a black band in a ponytail.

Ana heard Ben apologizing, his beautiful blue eyes was staring at her, making her blush even more.

"T-there's no need to… apologize…"She gingerly said, getting nearer him. The girl hugged him, her face on Ben's chest and her hands slowly rubbing his back. Everything about him was great to her, his lilac smell from the bath especially… so that's how being in love is… _'Am I making it too obvious?_' she thought, wanting to slap herself _'Ah, fuck this…'_

She stayed on Ben's arms for a long time, just enjoying the best moment she ever had on the last few days.

Ana let go of Ben and rubbed her eyes, yawning, she was getting very sleepy already but still had a few things to do, like bring their clothes to the laundry so they could use it again on the next day.

The girl looked at Ben's eyes and brought her head closer to his _'okay, now's the time'_ she thought while aiming at his lips

Ann leaned in, one of her hands was holding the guy's shirt gently and the other was on the floor, giving her balance. "I'm sorry for this…" She said and pressed her lips against his, giving him a soft and slow kiss. Her mouth started slowly opening and the sweet kiss turned into a very passionate one. Their tongues slowly touching each other and Ana enjoying his sweet breathe.

Ana broke the kiss after some time, panting without air "I-I… love you, Benny". She smiled to him and stood up. She could feel her whole body burning in a way that she couldn't really define if it was comfortable or not. Anyway, she took out the big sweater she was wearing and tied it around her hips. It felt a lot better just with the tight tank-top and the green shorts.

The girl yawned one more time and looked to the sandwiches on their plates, she wasn't really hungry anymore.

"Uhh… We need to bring our clothes to the laundry…" She said awkwardly "After you finish eating, of course… If you want to, I mean"

* * *

After losing so much he had finally gained something. Something that became so important to him accentuated by every gaping hole the end of the world had dug for him. Trust and a strange solace he found in Ana. Another person he could lose. Another chance for half-broken hearts, broken and cracked until all semblance was lost until he was pulled into a sea of self-forgetting.

One more kiss. Ben always thought his first kiss would be sweet and short. Fleeting like everything else in his life, forgotten like how others viewed him. It was the opposite. Bold, intense with emotion, a near-painful burning that melted into a hidden softness.

A shy smile replaced the kiss. He looked up at her in a stupor, each word hit him like a freight train. She made a promise, '_I love you'. _Could he promise to do the same? To continue to protect her. Misfortune lived in his actions. Ana was already on her way to becoming a martyr to his bad luck.

"I…I love y-you too…" he cursed her to endure every unfortunate event that would befall him.

Ben shakily got up and shook his head, "S-sorry, but I'm just…Not that hungry anymore…Here I'll help you with the laundry."

A few chores could keep his mind off of his latest mistake.

* * *

Ana tilted her head a little bit and smiled. She was feeling so happy now… Ben's words managed to make her heart fill with a great feeling: love.

She looked at the door, frowning and trying to remember where the laundry was. _'I saw it.. where?' _the girl thought, rubbing the back of her neck. 'Oh, yeah, on the end of the corridor!' she remembered, raising a finger.

"Hey Ben, go to the laundry while I'm taking our clothes. It's on the end of the corridor… the one at the left side of the lobby.

Ana ran out of the dining room, and sprinted trough the stair case, she opened the door of their suite and took the clothes, she looked at the room again, it was so beautiful… the king-size bed was perfectly tidy in the center, and the amazing lilac smell was still inside it. The girl sighed, remembering how her room used to look like that, but with dozens of trophies and medals… that she would never have again, just like her family and the old life. But maybe she and Ben could have some time on that hotel, with all the food, supplies and a comfy place to sleep.

She walked to the laundry again, opening the door and found Ben inside it, she put their clothes on a wash and dry machine and seated on a chair. Ana started to slowly tidy her hair with her hands.

"So… huh…" there would be a hour until the clothes get cleaned so she tried to find something to chat with Ben "What is your favorite videogame?" she said and facepalmed, thinking about how stupid that question sounded. Well, now that she started, better continue "Mine's Silent Hill…"


	22. Chapter 22

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Ben reluctantly let her go back to the suite. Splitting up wasn't really something he was too keen on especially after watching all those horror films. He wasn't really sure why he let her go but he made his way over the laundry room. Every step he took sounded as a hollow thud against the carpeted hallway, The walls extended for what seemed like miles while every nook and cranny held an unknown danger.

The laundry room door opened without resistance revealing another well kept room. Polished machines that seemed to be untouched from the imminent disaster and clean tiled floors without a single speck of dust. Ben shut the door behind him and leaned against a dryer. Now to wait…

He hated waiting. It wasn't that he didn't have the patience for it, but his mind tended to wander into darker areas of his subconscious, especially now. His thoughts flitted back to his family. The worry clutched at him. His sister, his mother, his father. A happy family torn apart by some random Darwinian event, If this was evolution…He hated it.

Light footsteps approached the room, the rhythmic steps weren't those of a walker. Human, but were they monsters? The door opened to a familiar face.

"Got it?" Ben asked and helped Ana put their clothes into the machines.

He leaned back onto the empty dryer behind him before raising an eyebrow at her question. Video games?

"Silent Hill? Heh, same! My favourite was the second one! But before all this…Me and a friend were trying to finish this one game…'Siren: Blood Curse'. It's..It kinda reminds me of the whole zombie apocalypse."

* * *

"Siren: Blood Curse, huh? I finished this game, like, 10 times already" She replied, smirking. Ana was great at games, especially horror and war games. "Silent Hill 2 is my favorite either… the ending never ceases to make me cry…" She sighed remembering about how much she cried when finished the game and how her family made fun of her for this. The 'love story' of that game was completely fucked up in the beginning but it all made sense for her in the end…

"Yeah, Siren kinda reminds me about whats happening right now… but it makes me feel better that what is out there aren't Shibitos and walkers can die considerably easy…"

Ana suddenly got distracted by the noise of the washing machine and started staring blankly at it until notice that the clothes where finally cleaned and the machine started the drying process. She stood up and stretched, yawning "Shit I really need to sleep"

The girl walked towards Ben and hugged him. She looked up and smiled shyly "Hehe…" Ana got on her toes and gave Ben a kiss on his lips again. Why exactly she was doing that? Part of here was fighting against that feeling, knowing that the chances of something happening were to big to just ignore, but other part of here really believed that her love for him was bigger than any threat in that world. The optimistic side was winning this time

* * *

A genuine smile found its way onto his face from the distraction.

"A-are you serious? Damn! You've got some guts!" Ben chuckled although he already figured the last part out. He nodded in agreement at the bitter ending, horror was his favourite genre but so were tragedies. The constant tension between right and wrong, the sadness following the climax of a tragic ending was something so relatable now. A part of him already knew the ending to his story, some lonely death after causing misfortune after misfortune that would finally catch up to him. The 'In Water' ending perhaps.

"Shit, if we had to deal with those fucking Shibito shits…Ugh…Imagine the maggot ones." Ben shuddered and quickly drew himself away from his dark thoughts.

The sudden noise from the washing machine provided another welcomed distraction.

"Hey, I could watch the laundry and maybe you could sleep?" Ben offered.

Ana looked like she could use some sleep, not to mention he-His thoughts were cut off by the kiss. He eased into it, still not use to such affection.

* * *

"Sleep?… Well this is tempting, do you mind staying here alone for a while? You're with your gun, right?" Ana got worried if she should leave him there or not, but the safe feel of the place made her thoughts calm down a little.

Ana rubbed her eyes, looking at Ben's face, her vision was getting blurred already. Sleeping would be great. "Okay… Take care. It won't take long I guess. Bring the clothes with you when you're coming"

The girl walked out of the laundry, heading to the suite again. She slowly opened the door and took her holster off, and placing it on a shelf. The girl started tidying up the bed leaving Ben's side of it completely perfect. She lied on the right side of the king-size bed, hugged a pillow -something that she usually did- and instantly fell asleep.

* * *

"Yep." Ben nodded and armed himself with a handgun.

It seemed unfitting for someone like him to be holding such a weapon. Too tall and too lanky, the man-made uniformity of the gun seemed so unnatural in his hands.

"Be careful…" he warned again for the umpteenth time that day.

Ben worriedly watched Ana leave the room. Fear gnawed at him, towering behind him. It glared him down and promised the worst sorts of death threats. He gulped and the grip on his gun tightened at another jolt from the washing machine.

His mind wandered yet again. This time to Ana's fate. Cursed since the day she met him. Cursed to share the same grave, the same fate. Future worry haunted him stepping out of its timeline to come to his.

The timer went off once the clothes were dry. How long had he been standing there worrying about stupid things like fate? Ben shook his head with a small smile, this is why he hated being alone. He gathered their clothes in his arms and started for their room.

The hallways remained quiet, no signs of their former residents. Not even a faint noise of a television or light chatter, not even a whisper from the ghosts.

Ben quietly opened the grand doors to the suite started to neatly fold the clothes. A little unusual for him but he liked having some semblance of his past life like a stack of folded clothes. He glanced over at Ana's sleeping form. Peaceful and vulnerable. Her light breaths reminding him that he needed to sleep soon too. Hopefully then he'd give his body time to heal from the wounds, not to mention all this moving was horrible for his newly acquired wound.

Ben gently placed himself under the covers on the left side of king-size bed. Sleep immediately captured him as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Ana woke up in the other day with one of her arms around Ben, she slowly opened her eyes, blinking constantly until the blurriness of her vision go away. She took her arm away from Ben and kissed his cheek "Hey, Ben… wake up…" the girl said in a soft voice.

She looked out of the window, the sun was already up, showing that they've slept such a long time. It was a great night of sleep indeed, especially considering that the bed was extremely comfortable. Ana stretched her body and looked at their clean clothes that were sat in a shelf. She carefully stood up and took her clothes, heading to bathroom.

The girl changed her clothes, washed her face with some water, wore her boots and got back to the room, picking up her weapons, backpack and wearing her holster. Ana heard a little noise coming from the outside, her felt scared for a moment, but the feeling passed away as she tried to convince herself that it was probably just the wind or maybe some little animal like a cat or something.

Ana looked back at Ben "hey, change your clothes before we go out, kay?" she somehow felt like if it was necessary…


	23. Chapter 23

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Dreamless. He was engulfed in darkness, pitch black with no beginning or end. Morning came to him in a voice as he was abruptly woken from his sleep. Ben took a moment to stretch, the sheets pooled around his waist.

"G'morning." he slurred and clambered off the bed.

He got to dressing himself once Ana left for the bathroom. Shrugging on his red hoodie, he gathered his usual weapons and glanced outside. He didn't pick up on the worry in Ana's voice but he could feel the calm before the storm. First a small breeze that surged into a massive tornado. He didn't want to think what would ensue once they left this sanctuary.

* * *

Ana wielded her knife and carefully opened the door, her sudden worry was washed away as she saw the long empty corridor, filled with doors to other rooms. She relaxed her shoulders and started walking in front of Ben.

Halfway, her footsteps where cut by a heavy metal clang sound. Ana stopped, looking everywhere, unable to figure out from what room it came. She looked at Ben and made a signal for him to stay where he was, without making a noise.

The girl started opening another door, one of her hands preparing he knife in a attack position. As he opened the door, her vision was filled with a black armor… a soldier.

She tried craving the knife on his body, but it was useless, the man managed to escape from it and trow her away. Another man came from the opposite door, holding a Assault Rifle. Before she could scream, more soldiers came from the other rooms, and started holding Ben, immobilizing him on the ground.

She looked at the armed soldier for an instant again and her vision got black and she fell into uncontiousness. The man hit the gun on her head.

* * *

Ben entered the hallway, looking around for any dangers. All was quiet as the pair walked down the hall. Peace was something so rare he was terrified that the smallest noise might shatter it. Ana took the lead and continued forward. After all they had been through, it felt so easy. Find a grand hotel, get good food and get a good night's sleep, then walk out back into the world.

And like usual, he was wrong.

Ben stood back as Ana checked the door. Before he could react soldiers clad in black armour stormed into the sanctuary. So called 'peace keeps' or 'heroes' grabbed Ana and then came for him. His hands trembled once he raised the gun only to be grabbed by multiple soldiers. Rough gloved hands clamped down on his arms and twisted him into submission.

"S-STOP! WE'RE NOT INFECTED! W-WE'RE HUMAN!" he screamed.

Weapons didn't work against their armour, reason didn't work against their orders. He felt the butt of a gun smash against his skull before he felt himself crash into the usual dreamless repose.

The world had really gone to hell. Flashes of the gruesome mass grave played beneath his eyelids. Were they going to join in as two more nameless corpses? Cruelly left behind under a plastic roof as an example of corruption, blood spilled all for the 'safety' that politics promised with a cheating grin.

* * *

The cold wind of the new mysterious place woke Ana up. Her consciousness slowly getting back while her body made a struggle to move. Her hands where tied with a rope in front of her body, she was seating on a cold metal chair with another heavy rope holding her by the waist. "What the…" Ana's words were cut off when she started analyzing the place. It looked like a military green tent, it was completely empty inside, except for the chair and something on the other side of it… her weapons?

Ana widened her eyes, remembering about Ben, what if the soldiers had killed him? Her heart was hurt by the thought and panic started taking her. "BEN!? BEN!" the girl screamed, hopeless.

For a moment, she heard a noise behind her, footsteps. Ana turned her head and saw a soldier coming in. He was holding a handgun and reading a notebook. What the hell was happening?

"WHERE'S HE?! WHERE'S BEN!? GET ME OUT OF THIS!" She started screaming, trying to untie her body from the metal chair, but it was useless. The soldier was reading the notebook and ignoring her.

"IF ANY OF YOU TOUCH A FINGER ON HIM I SWEAR I'LL RIP YOU GODDAMN HEAD OFF, ARE YOU HEARING ME!?"

The man was still silent, but she could see a grin on he's face. This made Ana get red from anger.

The unnamed soldier stopped reading the notebook and approached her.

"Let's see… Ana Scarlet, 17 years old, Brazilian, Archery and shot champion for 3 consecutive years, daughter of Eliza Scarlet and Fabian Jones, killed a man 3 years ago… Now a fugitive, accused of murder 4 soldiers causing a fire on a old building, accused of resistance to arrest, carrying weapons illegally and suspect of killing another man on a gun-shop. Am I right?" he said, staring at her.

Ana's face got instantly pale, how did he know all these things about her? "w-what…. H-how…"

"We know everything" the man replied, waving the notebook.

"Where's Ben?"

"We haven't killed you boyfriend… yet."

"What do you want from us?"

"The government saw a little opportunity on you guys. The last survivors of the little city of Stone Mountain, and you're just kids…" he said, inspecting her.

"O-opportunity?"

"You can chose the fate of you and Mr. Paul now…" he cached a walkie-talkie from his pocket and pressed the button "The man on the other line is holding a gun on your guy's head now, you chose the right things and we may keep you and him alive"

Ana wanted to put a knife on the man's skull, how dare him threat her that way, putting Ben's life in danger? Or… Maybe he was bluffing?

"What is it?"

"You have two choices, being executed right here and right now, or… turn into test subjects"

"TEST SUBJECTS? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?"

"Don't you want the government to find a cure for all this? Other survivors already accepted this, and, believe me, they're being a great help, especially considering that ya'll is infected"

"So the survivors you don't kill are being turned into lab rats? You're making me choose between two death sentences!"

"We're just killing the weak, tough people like you would handle the tests better"

The man's walkie-talkie started making static noises before another voice speak through it: "Sir, 4 subjects passed away, they couldn't handle the vacines. What should we do with the bodies?"

"Just burn it" the man drily answered and turned back to Ana, and turned off the walkie-talkie, putting the barrel of his gun on her head after that. "Choose it. A certain death right here and right now or the benefit of the risk"

Ana looked away, she couldn't let Ben die by her fault, but she didn't wanted them to turn into rats, used to test innumerous vaccines to something that probably didn't even had a cure.

She mover her arms, both of her wrists were tied together, but she could manage to get out of there somehow. The soldier had a knife on his holster; maybe she could get it!

Ana looked behind the man that was standing in front of her, forced the most convincing scared face she could do, and extended her arms, pointing at the tent's entrance.

"W-WHAT IS THAT!? BEHIND YOU!"

Perfect, the man immediately turned back, taking the gun away from her head. In a second, Ana bluntly took the knife out of him and craved on the only uncovered spot of his body: the neck.

The men let out a scream of pain while his blood started dripping on the girl's hand. He fell on the ground, agonizing. His lifeless body standing in front of her/

Ana carefully turned the knife on her hands and started sawing the rope that was holding her wrists. After she could get her arms free, she cut the ropes on her waist and stood up, heading to her weapons.

The girl armed herself and took the man's gun.

"I'm going to save you, Ben… I'm going to get us out of here" she murmured, to herself.

She ducked out of the tent, the place was filled with other soldiers, it was a military camp. 'Wait… I know this place… They took us to Atlanta?' she thought, carefully heading to the next tent, avoiding the soldiers' sight.

Ana was wielding her knife, she slowly opened the tent's cover noticing that there was a man holding a gun at… Ben's head. The girl sprinted through him, and stabbed his neck before he could even notice her presence. Another soldier killed by her hands…

The girl quickly cut the ropes that were keeping the guy tied at the chair and the one at his wrists. She knelt in front of Ben hold his hands "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"


	24. Chapter 24

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

It started out as a few murmurs, hazy background noise that reverberated through the blackness. A pounding headache soon ensued and a cracked concrete floor beneath his feet were the first things he woke up to.

"Ugghh…Shit…" Ben groaned and tried to move his arms.

The events of yesterday came back to him once he realized his arms had been bound behind him and strapped to the chair. He snapped up and immediately regretted his decision as his headache worsened.

"Wh-what the fuck…"

A male voice and a click sounded behind him. Ben didn't have to look back to know what that click meant.

"We have orders to kill if you refuse to comply with out procedures."

The barrel of a gun kissed the back of his head. Not even a tremble in the man's voice, just a mechanical response that sounded rehearsed.

"Your p-procedures?" Ben stammered out, his face visibly paling.

"Yes. We're currently interrogating the girl who was with you until your time of capture. Now all we ask is that you comply to be used as test subjects. If not, we'll be forced to neutralize _both _of you."

Ben's breathing quickened, "O-o-okay! Y-you can do whatever you want! Please , just don't kill us!"

Test subjects. Their new title. Condemned to suffer like a criminal. Their crimes as the state deemed were breathing. Living.

"W-why're you doing this? You're killing us…I-I have a family…A-a sister…"

The soldier remained silent.

"Sh-she's in middle school…Please. Let us go…I dunno if they're safe or not."

Ben squeezed his eyes shut with frustration. Rationality meant nothing in a lawless world. He was human. The soldier was human. They were the same.

He never realized the new presence in the tent. Only when the gun behind his head was roughly pulled away and a gurgle behind him sounded did he turn to see Ana. She quickly went to work and cut his bindings.

"H-holy shit! A-Ana!" he yelped at the soldier's dead body. "I'm okay…J-just spooked." Ben responded and gave her hands a light squeeze.

* * *

Ana sighed, relieved that the soldier didn't hurt Ben. She looked back at the dead man, grabbing his gun and giving it to the guy "Here, take it and don't be afraid to use it, okay? This is serious now, they're heavily armed, and where just two teenagers trying to run away"

She hold Ben's arm and pulled him out of the chair. The girl loaded her gun and ducked, heading out of the tent and pulling the guy with her. She peeked through the cover and saw three soldiers heading to the tent she was in. "Oh no…" she murmured.

Ana could hear the loud angry voices of the soldiers "THAT LITTLE BITCH KILLED HIM, WE GOT TO FIND HER!"

The girl hold Ben's hand stronger and sprinted towards the exit gate without thinking. The guards immediately screamed and pointed the guns at them. Ana aimed at the both man and shot her gun twice, each bullet craving on their throats before they could even make a movement to pull their triggers.

More soldiers came out of the tents all of then screaming, cursing both Ben and Ana, they all holding heavy guns, pointing at the teenagers.

The screams around the military camp were coming from everywhere. Sudden gunshots started coming from behind, hitting the ground. Her legs making a struggle to go even faster, her nails craved on Ben's wrist, pulling him with her.

A sudden pressure on her waist unbalanced her, at that point, the couple where almost passing through the gate.

The girl hold herself up, looking around. The vision made Ana feel a cold on her spine. Dozens of walkers where being attracted by she shots. "Fuck!" She angrily said, cursing her bad luck.

She heard the muffled screams of the soldiers: "FALL BACK! FALL BACK! CLOSE THE GATES"

"We need to get to somewhere safe…" she said, holding her waist, the blood was dripping from a gunshot. "T-there!" Ana pointed to a clothes store on the end of the street and sprinted to it.

* * *

Ben sprinted behind Ana. The gunshots behind them only made him run faster. Panic gripped him as he continued to sprint towards the fence. He felt himself slow at the sudden groans that erupted around them. Shambling corpses extended their arms towards them, their jaws agape in a silent scream.

"N-No…" he weakly stammered.

Dead eyes glared at them envious of the life that pumped through them. The gate screeched close while the gunshots stopped. Ben found himself running again except this time from a different kind of monster. The red that seeped down Ana's side and threaded between her fingers.

"Shit…Shit GO GO!" Ben yelled and ran to the abandoned store.

* * *

"C'mon, Ana, hold on" she said to herself while struggling to run towards the abandoned store. The pain on her waist was excruciating, the burning sensation around the bullet made the girl's face contort in agony. Was it that terrible for Ben when she got shot on the arm?

Ana looked behind her, a little army of undead people were trying to catch them. They seemed faster this time, or maybe she was slowing down.

Ben and her finally got into the store, the girl closed the glass doors and locked it, but obviously, that wouldn't be enough to keep them safe. "Oh god, oh god… They're in so many… and… and… I can't fight like this! It's hurting so much!" Ana screamed, falling on her knees, pressing the wound while blood was splattered through the ground.

Ana looked at the little pool of blood, her face got pale for a moment, she was completely horrified "That's my blood… that's a lot of my blood…" The girl looked at the remanning clothes of the store, trying to think on something that could stop the bleeding. A tourniquet maybe? She took her knife and headed to a dress that was laying on the floor, the girl ripped off a big piece of tissue, enough to knot around her waist.

"I'm okay… I'm alright" she said, trying to assure herself. "… We gotta get out of here… I gotta keep you safe" Ana started knotting the piece of fabric around her waist the strong as she could, covering the wound.

She suddenly heard a slam in the doors and turned her head to it, dozens of walkers were desperately trying to get in. The door wasn't going to hold it for a long time, and the same for Ana… she probably wasn't going much farther without some medical care.

Ana spotted a emergency door at the other side of the store, it leaded to a staircase maybe. "C'mon, Ben… let's get out of here"


	25. Chapter 25

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

The inside of the store was just as dilapidated as the outside. Torn and dirtied clothing was flung everywhere while broken jewelry crunched under their feet with every step they took. Ben crouched at Ana's side fear written all over his face.

"Sh-shit! What do we do? Fucking shit!" Ben harshly whispered.

His gaze moved from the blood on the floor to Ana and then rested upon the zombies that tried to break through the door. Bare hands banged against the glass leaving behind bloodied hand prints. Fear dug its invisible fingers into his stomach until a dull pain thumped through him.

Ben continued to occasionally glance at the door while Ana stopped the bleeding. The hinges were already starting to bust from the frame while some of the glass showed signs of breaking.

"W-we could get to the roof?" Ben suggested and closely followed behind her.

The collective groans outside only set him on edge. A wounded partner and a dozen of mindless killing machines. This wasn't looking so good.

* * *

"The roof…" Ana repeated thinking about it, that probably wasn't the best idea, but would be better than instantly being attacked by the zombies. "O-okay, let's go" she hold Ben's arm and walked fast to the door, opening it.

In the moment she closed and locked the door, Ana heard the sound of glass breaking, showing that the walkers finally got in. "Oh fuck… we're so screwed"

The girl looked up, the big staircase leading to the rooftops would be their only chance to get out of there. She took a deep breath and sprinted through up, holding Ben with her, each one of her quick steps making her waist burn into a terrible pain followed by the sound of the undead people smashing the metal door. "Please hold on" Ana murmured to both herself and the door.

When Ben and Ana finally got into the roof, after locking the door, the girl started looking for a escape rout. They were on the third floor, so jumping was out of question.

"WHAT DO WE DO?! THEY'RE GOING TO GET US!" Ana screamed to Ben. "Wait, maybe…" she walked and knelt at the building's edge, looking down. All the windows had big bumps, maybe they could climb their way down? It would be risky, especially with her wound, but it would be better than being eaten alive, right?

"W-We need to climb it down!" The girl said, holding the edges of the roof firmly, and turning back to Ben, she let her legs slip down while her hands were still grabbing the floor. The stretch on her waist made her wound open even more, trowing blood down her body. Ana let out a little cry of pain and looked down to a salience where she could hold again. The teen let her hands slip down and grabbed the other window, leaning her feet on the wall. She looked up "C'mon Ben!" The girl jumped out of the window, bluntly landing on the ground.

The pain on her wound got worse, making her fall on her knees, looking around at the streets. No sight of walkers between the big buildings of Atlanta, just the noise of the undead army that was inside the store.


	26. Chapter 26

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

All hope escaped him like smoke rising into the sky in wisps. Behind them waited a crowd of undead while in front of them a thirty foot drop and a certain death.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Ben shouted back in panic.

He looked up at the sky and slammed his hands on his head trying to think of a way out.

"Wh-what? C-climb?" Ben stuttered and turned to Ana.

He ran to the edge and watched Ana start the descent down. The sudden cry of pain earned a wince from him in response as he fearfully watched her climb.

Just looking down started to induce a faint sense of vertigo. Either climb or starve. Ben slung a leg over the edge and struggled to find his footing. He managed to let himself down onto the first window. Deep breathes, he reminded himself. Again he slung himself over the window sill and onto the second window. A glimpse at the street below him caused a shudder to run through him.

"Calm down. Calm down."

The words only nurtured the fear that weakened his arms. It wasn't until his feet found the stable window sill when Ben finally relaxed. Just one more. His hands trembled as they gripped onto the dusty stone, legs dangled below him trying to find their next footing. Lady Luck smiled down on him with cruel intentions. Her soft hands gently cupped his own before peeling them off the window sill. For a moment he was airborne until the ground below him rushed forward.

An empty thud echoed through him, pain jolted across his chest. Before he could scream the world blew out into complete darkness.

* * *

Ana looked at Ben, his unconscious body slammed on the ground. "Oh no, on no… BEN!" She stood up, stumbling towards him "We gotta get out of here, please wake up, please be okay" The girl kelt at his side, holding his shoulders, desperately shaking him "OH GOD"

Tears started running down her face, the panic now had taken her. The agonizing pain coming from her waist had now overtaken her whole torso, making it even harder to breath, her vision started turning black…

Ana's body fell on the ground, unconscious, sat there like a fresh meal for the walkers. Was that the end?

The girl's vision started slowly getting back, her deep breaths making her chest hurt. "Ben…" she murmured, trying to find the guy and know where was she. It wasn't the streets anymore, it was a dark place.

Ana seated, looking around the new area, her blurry vision was making her head hurt, but she could see something… Ben was laying on the ground, two people was… taking care of him? The girl looked down at her waist, a tourniquet was around it and the bleeding had already stopped.

She walked towards the two strangers and knelt by Ben's side.

"So you're alive" A 40 year old looking man said, while inspecting the guy's legs, a teenager girl was with him, just staring at Ben while her partner, maybe her father, that was taking care of Ben.

"Your cute looking friend almost broke hinself" the girl said, turning her eyes to Ana

"You stay away from him" Ana replied instantly jealous, but noticed how rude that sounded

"Woah, calm down, I won't steal your boyfriend" The stranger replied, laughing. The man let out a little laughing to, making Ana's face red.

"H-he… he's not my boyfriend… Who are you?" Ana replied a little embarrassed

"I'm Kate, he's Charlie" The girl said, giving a little slap on the man's shoulder

"Oh.. nice to meet you both… I'm Ana and he's Ben. Thank you for saving us… we were going to die…"

"We know… well, we're just passing by, going to move on tomorrow. You two can stay with us until then" Kate cutely said, Charlie looked away from Ben's leg for a minute staring angrily at Kate "That wasn't what we were planning" he said.

"Well… we don't need to stay here, we can get out as soon as Ben wake up… If he's feeling alright" Ana replied

"Great" Charlie drily said, looking back at Ben's body, inspecting his ribs "Well, your friend haven't broken anything"

"Thanks god" Ana answered with relief

"How do you guys managed to survive on the last days?" Kate asked curiously

Before Ana could reply the question, Ben started opening his eyes. The girl smiled and leaned down, kissing him "Oh god I'm so glad you're alright"

"Not your boyfriend, huh?" The younger girl said, laughing while staring at Ana kissing Ben

* * *

Darkness had take him so abruptly the only memory of the fall remained in the soreness in his side. Voices echoed around him, splattering and smearing against his hearing until they fluctuated in volume like some paranormal recording of disembodied voices.

Ben slowly opened his eyes, terrified that he may bear witness to the afterlife. Instead he found himself looking back at familiar brown eyes; soft lips leaned down onto his in a relieved kiss. He closed his eyes again and let himself enjoy the small window of relief before placing a hand near Ana's ear and threaded his fingers in her hair. His immersion was broken by the voice behind him,

Ben broke the kiss and glanced at the feminine voice.

"Wh-who're you?" he asked rather bluntly.

The man behind the girl stood next to her with his arms crossed. Lines of worry creased across his face, hints of grey blended into his dark hair. Ben carefully sat up and winded at the prickles of pain in his ribs. His surroundings were anything but welcoming. The metal folding door on one side of the room and the concrete walls adorned with a few movie posters suggested it they were in a garage of some sort.

"Where…Where are we?"

* * *

Ana frowned when Ben broke the kiss but understood the reason. Charlie was standing in front of them with crossed arms, looking a little angry at both Ben and Ana. Kate almost immediately started presenting themselves "I-I'm Kate thats Charlie"

"Now that you're both alright you can go" Charlie hastily said, staring at the teenagers.

"Oh, c'mon, man. Can't they stay with us for… well, at least until tomorrow? It's very late already, and they're still hurt." Kate replied, visibly worried.

The man hold Kate by her wrists and pulled her to the other side of the strange place. Ana tried listening for what he was saying "We can't risk it, Kate! We don't know them! They can be crazy, try to kill us while we sleep" Charlie said angrily. "Oh, c'mon, Man! Why did we saved them if we're going to trow them back out there?" the young girl replied

Charlie took a deep breath irritated and let out a small "okay". Kate smile and headed back to Ben and Ana "So.. you two don't mind staying with us for the night, right? Well, as long as you two don't do… anything inappropriate" The girl gave a little wink while doing a dirty movement with her hands.

"WHA- WHA- WE AIN'T GONNA DO ANYTHING! WHAT…" Ana's cheeks flushed to a deep red and Kate started laughing

"I'm just joking, don't worry" The girl said and slapped Ana's shoulder gently in a friendly way.

"W-where are we?" Ann finally asked, looking around

"In a garage" Charlie drily said, looking at some movie posters that were on the walls

"Oh… Ok." Ana answered and looked back at Ben, leaning a hand on his chest "So… how are you feeling, Ben? Is it hurting?"


	27. Chapter 27

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

The fear of strangers was understandable considering how many convicts and psychopaths were on the loose in an autonomous world. Charlie didn't seem so keen on letting them stay, especially with the disdainful frown he gave him, but Kate seemed a little more lenient.

Ben blushed and joined Ana, "I-I ACTUALLY HAVE SOME SENSE OF SHAME!"

He shook his head at the girl's bluntness but abruptly clutched a hand to his side from the sudden jolt of pain.

"A little…But I'll live."

It didn't feel like anything was broken, but he was no doctor.

Ben glanced back at Charlie and Kate, "Hey uh…Thanks, for helping us and all. A-and letting us stay here."

* * *

Ana glanced over Kate and Charlie "Yeah… thank you for the help, really. Also… where's my weapons" she said, worried.

"They're on that shelf, don't worry about it" The man answered, pointing at a metal shelf. All her weapons, including Ben's backpack were carefully sat there. Ana relaxed her shoulders and looked back to the new people. "Thank you"

The girl looked at her own wound, carefully touching. The gunshot wasn't hurting too much anymore "We took the bullet out of your waist" Kate stammered, looking at Ana and then pointing to a bunch of medical equipment like gauze, antiseptic, and a bloodied scalpel and tweezer.

"You both should rest… but… mind if we talked a little? It will be better if we know more about you… Ben and Ana right? Kate, take some food and water to them" Charlie said, sitting on the floor while Kate walked towards a backpack.

"Is she your daughter?" Ana asked curiously.

"No. I was her father's friend… the military got us but I managed to escape with her. I've been keeping her safe since we got out of the quarantine zone"

"The military executed the others, right? We had some problems with those fuckers…" The girl replied, angry.

Before the man could have answered, Kate got back bringing some cans of soup. She opened each can and gave one to each person, Ana's was a mushroom soup, her favorite at least.

"Thank you…"

* * *

"Sure." Ben nodded and sat up right leaning forward a bit. "Yeah, we saw first hand what those fuckers do." he agreed and shuddered at the image of the pool of bloodied corpses. "Where you guys from?"

He accepted the soup with a thanks and looked down into the mouth of the can. Tomato soup, cold but it smelled so appetizing. After swirling the soup in the can for a bit he returned his attention to Ana.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked noting the bloodied bandage wrapped to her side.

They seemed to be in the clear but the tide could easily turn.

* * *

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, Benny" Ana said, taking a break from the cold soup and leaning her hand on Ben's shoulder with a half smile on her face. Her waist wasn't really hurting… it felt more like a burning sensation.

"We're from here" Charlie said quickly obviously avoiding the conversation.

The girl sighed, turning her attention to the canned soup again, it was cold but at the same the taste was great… but nothing compared to the last night. Ana started remembering about the hotel. All the food, a safe place, with a comfy bad for her and Ben… all gone.

The few good memories of the last night took her mind, making her feel miserable again, just like when she had to kill her dad. Ana took a deep breath and covered her eyes with one of her hands, blinking unstoppably to hold the tears.

Kate must have noticed her feeling and hold Ana's shoulder in a caring way "Hey… it's everything alright? Is the wound hurting?"

"N-no… it's alright" Ana said, trying to avoid any chat about what happened last night.

"Oh.. okay. Well, do you guys live here in Atlanta?" The young girl continued.

"I do. Ben's from Stone Mountain… we were there before those militaries got us"

"They brought you guys here? What did they wanted from two teenagers?" Charlie replied

"Those fuckers wanted us to be test subjects for a vaccine or something… or they would execute us. But I managed to get them out of our asses without much problem. Well…" Ana looked at her wounded waist "… It could have been worst"

"Since when are you two dating?" Kate said, with a curious smile on her face

* * *

"D-DATING…!?" Ana looked at Ben, confused… they wasn't even dating yet… were they? _'I don't even know how this works' _The girl thought, blushing.

"Uh…"

The tomato guts in his soup did nothing to quell the nausea that rose in him from the reminder of the quarantine zone. Bodies littered the floor like used and broken toys with their cotton innards puffing out of bloated bodies. Every body popped like an overripe tomato, red spilling everywhere into every crevice the earth offered.

Ben shuddered at the imagined carnage and chugged the rest of the soup down not wanting to waste any. He hastily wiped his mouth with his sleeve before gingerly placing the empty can in front of him.

"Thanks I needed that." he nodded and glanced back at Ana.

The emotion evident in her eyes were quickly covered by her hands. He wanted to tell her that she didn't need to act so strong all the time, that crying was never a weakness. Just a human experience that, like everything else, was existed to be released.

"Ana…It's okay." Ben quietly murmured and lightly touched her arm.

A simple sign of camaraderie that strengthened over the stress of survival.

Recollecting his memories of the military tents and the interrogation, Ben could only frown at the question. Used and objectified as guinea pigs for a vaccine that would only benefit the powerful.

"I'd steer the fuck away from anywhere near Stone Mountain though. I doubt there's anyone left." Ben warned, his eyes showed a new intensity.

He averted his gaze and mumbled, "I dunno…We met a couple days ago."

* * *

Ana felt her face heat up even more at Ben's words. They met… 3 days ago? She never imagined that would pass through that much in so little time… and especially fall in love by someone so fast.

She finished her soup and kept holding the can, blankly staring at it until hear Kate's voice. "Well… it doesn't looks like you're guys aren't dating plus it's kinda obvious the sexual tension here. Did you guys had sex already?"

"KATE!" Ana and Charlie said together.

"What, I'm just curious!" The girl replied, looking at Charlie. Kate turned her eyes to Ben and raised an eyebrow. "So… did you?"

"K-Kate, THIS ISN'T ANYONE'S BUSINESS, OKAY?! DON'T MAKE ME TROW MY CAN AT YOU!" Ana said, extremely awkward.

"I'll take this as a yes, them" Kate laughed and finished her soup. Charlie hold a laugh and put his empty can near Kate's

"UHHHHH" Ana groaned, irritated "ISN'T YOU A LITTLE TOO CURIOUS?!"

"That's how I am. Now g'night guys" Kate stood up and took her backpack setting it on the ground, near Charlie. She leaned her head on it, and closed her eyes quickly falling asleep in some minutes. Kate looked like a cool girl, despite the awkward curiosity…

Ana looked back at Ben, and leaned her head on his shoulder, one of her hands gently sat at Ben's leg "Uh… are you tired?"


	28. Chapter 28

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

"N-n-no!" Ben stammered back in response, his eyes wide with a blush spread across his face.

God, did tact disappear when the world did? He covered his face with his hand as he looked down at his shoes in embarrassment.

"G'night." he mumbled.

Ana's hair streaked over his hoodie, he slung an arm around her shoulder and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Yeah, with all that running I'm pretty exhausted."

Ben grabbed his backpack and took out his varsity jacket. Blue and white with his school symbol and his name embroidered onto the fabric, untouched by harsh survival. He neatly folded it into a makeshift pillow and handed it to Ana.

"Here, forgot I had this."

* * *

Ana smiled at Ben's kiss on her forehead and watched as he carefully folded his jacket into a makeshift pillow for her. "Thank you" She took it and placed by the guy's side before lay on the ground, leaning her head on it.

The girl sighed and hold Ben's hand, slowly closing her eyes "Good night, Charlie… Good night, Ben"

Ana fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

With a couple tugs he managed to pull the red hoodie over his head. A rusty stain dotted the arm with a tear, a casual reminder of another close call. He neatly folded it making sure to smooth out any wrinkles before setting it on the ground. The cloth still retained his warmth as he set his head on it and got ready to sleep.

A gruff voice interrupted him, "Kid…Ben…You ever thought of what the meaning of life meant?"

A seemingly random question that baffled him at first.

"What?" he asked sending Charlie a quizzical look.

"You heard me. The meaning of life…" Charlie turned his gaze towards Ben with a dead serious look. However he quickly gave up his act, his features softening into a hearty smile. "Heh, just kiddin just kiddin!" A short-lived smile that was quickly extinguished with another serious look. "What I meant to say was that you don't look like the most reliable kind. No offense. But if you're gonna wanna live through this, and save your friend over there, you're gonna have to do whatever it takes to survive."

The brusque comment caught him off guard but Ben quickly shook himself out of it, "A bit uncalled for, but whatever…What do you mean I have to do whatever it takes?"

"Step one, no more morals. Guilt's for the weak, just another excuse to not be productive. Step two, stay scared. We feel fear for a reason. It's part of survival to stay on edge and never let your guard down. And step three, never ever trust anyone. Never…Got it?"

Ben questioned incredulously, "So what…These're your rules for survival? You're telling me to throw everything away! How…How am I going to do that?"

"Either that, or you **rot.**" Charlie emphasized with a small sneer.

It didn't matter whether he liked it or not, those were the new laws set by some sick Darwinian order.

"I…Okay,.." Ben sighed submissively.

"Just don't fuck up kid."

And with that Charlie turned his back against him. It only took Ben a couple minutes to fall asleep but the same question lingered:

_Was he willing to give up the old world morals to live in this new world?_

* * *

After a good night of sleep, Ana woke up in same garage of the last night with a sharp pain on her waist and the feeling like if someone was touching the wound. The girl opened her eyes carefully and could see Kate's young face staring at her waist while cleaning her wound with a wet gauze. Part of Ana's shirt was pulled up, giving her a weird cold sensation on her stomach because of the wind coming from the outside.

"Hey, Kate. Good morning... what are you doing?" Ann said, quizzically looking at Kate's hands while she cleaned the wound.

"G'Morning, Annie. I'm cleaning your wound again, to, you know, prevent any infection..." Kate said, touching Ana's belly.

"Uh... thank you. Hey, Kate, why did you and Charlie saved us yesterday? Normally... people would just pass by or even smash our heads for precaution"

"You and Ben looked like a cute couple, plus you two were breathing, what showed that you guys were alive, so..." The young girl said, slightly confused.

Ana's eyes started looking around the place, it was very lightened now and she could see the movie posters on the walls, car parts... just like a normal garage, well, except for the irony in the movie posters, all of them about zombies.

The girl sighed and looked for Charlie and Ben, looked like they were already awake and talking to each other. Kate finished cleaning the wound and covered it with some bandages, she helped Ana to stand up and walked back to her backpack.

Ann took Ben's varsity jacket from the ground and unfolded it. She walked back to Ben and hugged him "Good morning!" the girl said and kissed him before turning her attention to Charlie "G'morning!"

"Good morning, Ana" Charlie replied with a little smile "Did Kate took good care of your wound?"

"Yeah, she's good on this. Hey, Ben, feeling better? Don't forget that we gotta go in some minutes"

* * *

The pitter-patter of his feet hitting wet concrete echoed around him. Grey buildings loomed over him curving up into the middle of the sky. Heavy rain fell from a curtain of rippling clouds collecting in the puddles around him. They were closing in. Who They were he didn't know; the military, the zombies, or maybe some other evil. All he knew was to run. The water collected in the uneven street black as asphalt reflect Ben's tall frame sprinting past every closed door or every blocked alleyway. Hands reached out for him but no voices followed. Just the sound of rain hitting the concrete as They got him.

A hard nudge jolted Ben from his nightmare. He bolted up right while his chest heaved with imagined exercise and fear.

"Dude…You alright?" a feminine voice asked.

Kate…

Ben ran a hand over his face before slowly nodding his head, "Yeah…What's up?"

"Pffft, what you had a nightmare or somethin?" Kate playfully punched him in the shoulder.

Grey walls that reminded him all too much of the nightmare buildings gave him an uneasy feeling as he hesitantly stood up.

Collecting his red hoodie and pulling it over his head, Ben vaguely responded with a small smirk, "You could say something like that."

Charlie stood hunched over the counter in the far left corner, chewing idly on his pen while his greying facial hair prickled the base. A portrait of a philosopher, keen grey-green eyes accented by worried wrinkles. He glanced at Ben and gestured the teen to join him with a wave of his hand.

Removing the pen from his mouth Charlie looked him over before saying, "You remember 'bout what I said?"

Ben gave a small nod in response, "Yeah…I was thinking over it last night and…Yo-you're right. I just…I need to get used to all this survival shit."

A smile graced the older man's face, dark eyes immediately lightening up, "Haha, glad to hear that! Guess I won't have to worry about you too much."

The teen opened his mouth to respond when a sudden hug and a kiss interrupted him.

He recovered from the surprise before lying with a grin, "Yep, I slept pretty well. Uh…Yeah. Hold on." Ben leaned in close and cupped a hand over his mouth before whispering to Ana, "We still got some food in my backpack. Maybe we could share some with Kate and Charlie?"

* * *

Ana stopped for a little to think about what Ben said. Kate and Charlie had saved their lives, so they deserved the food even if it was important for Ben and Ana. "Sure" The girl whispered in response.

The girl walked towards Ben's backpack and carefully opened it, Taking from the inside a bunch of cereal, candy bars, and caned food, all of them from their loot in the supermarket two days earlier. She separated half of it for Ben and her, and the other half for Kate and Charlie.

Ana took the food and whistled to call their attention "Hey, Kate, Charlie, we have something for you guys before we go away"

"Really!?" Kate said, and ran for Ana.

"Yes, really. Here…" Ana replied and gave half of the food to the girl. "… Thank you very much for all your help. We wouldn't be here if wasn't for you guys"

Charlie approached Kate and looked at the food, smiling. "Thank you, kid. But… are you sure? Food isn't a very easy thing to find anymore"

"We're gonna be alright, don't worry"

Charlie took the food and kept on his backpack, then looked back at Ben and Ana. He was about to say something but his words where cut by a slam on the garage's door. The scare made Ana step back, preparing her hand in an attack position until she realize that she wasn't holding her knife.

Another slam, followed undead groans. "Fuck. Get your weapons!" Ana whispered and got her things, arming herself with the bow while Charlie got a revolver and Kate wielded a pistol.

The few slams in the door turned into uncountable ones. "Fuck we gotta get out of here!" Charlie said

"I know! But, where!? There's no other doors!" Kate was almost screaming

"We need to open the door and kill them" Ana said, forcing a calm tone

"ARE YOU CRAZY?"

"IT'S THE ONLY WAY! Ben?" Ana replied and looked for Ben "TAKE A WEAPON, GODDAMIT!"


	29. Chapter 29

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

This was going against everything Charlie had just told him: Giving up some of their foodstuffs sounded more like trust and generosity than selfish survival. However, their actions were forgiven judging from how the survivalist's hard features immediately softened into a genuine smile.

A moment of camaraderie, a small raft drifting out into sea before the sudden warnings of a tidal wave rippled through the calm surface. Metal clanged behind him shaking and rattling with each pound. Hissing and guttural groans joined into the broken melody.

For once, Ben actually agreed with Kate. Removing their only barrier that divided them from certain death didn't sound so appealing. Looking around the room, it came to him that they had no way out. The metal door on the right was barred and blocked by shelves and boxes while there wasn't even one window peeking into the outside world. A grey prison, their concrete coffin.

Ben ran to his backpack and rummaged around for his knife and handgun.

"G-GOT IT!" he shouted back and positioned himself in front of the manual switch.

Charlie and Kate stared at him in disbelief before Charlie stepped forward to stop him.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND? IF WE OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR, DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN?" he bellowed.

Ben stared back at the man, the usual submissiveness replaced by faint determination. "Charlie, if you haven't noticed we're trapped. We gotta do something." he retorted with an artificial calmness created by fear.

Grabbing the chain that was attached to the pulley system to open the metal fan door, Ben turned his gaze towards Ana, "I-I'm ready when you are…And…If we don't get outta this alive…I-I love you…"

* * *

Ben words made Ana's heart get heavy. What if that was his last words to her? What if they where about to get all killed? It would be all her fault, then…

She kept the wooden bow on her back and held her pistol in one hand and her combat knife in the other before heading for Ben. _'Stop, Ana! This isn't fucking time!' _The girl thought, trying to stop herself from causing any distractions.

The girl wrapped her arms around his waist and stood on her toes, giving a long kiss on the guy. Maybe their last one. A tear rolled down her cheek as she stepped back "I love you too, Ben… I'll always love… no matter what happens"

Kate and Charlie was still silent behind them, waiting for the confront. "I'm ready" Ana said, preparing her gun.

'_What have I done?' _Ana whispered to herself. She had now proposed a death sentence to all of them: The two friendly strangers that took care of her… And Ben… the guy she promised to protect with her own life…. her first and only love… _'I'm so sorry'_

* * *

He closed his eyes, letting himself exist only in the kiss and in the dots of light that burst in the darkness. Pulling away, he turned to Death.

"Get ready." Ben grit out and tugged on the chain.

The screech of metal against metal sounded through the room, a wail that stepped into the background as the crowd of hisses and groans joined in. Sunlight spilled into the room as did the zombies, shambling slowly with arms outstretched and jaws agape in a silent scream.

Ben raised the gun, every worry drenched and extinguished with the adrenaline. He took a step forward, legs vehemently opposing his first step towards a youthful demise.

The first pull of the trigger resonated through the room followed by a thud as a rotting carcass fell to its knees.

* * *

Ana's eyes started hurting with the daylight, her legs were hurting and her head as well. The undead groans invading the garage, followed by gun shots brought her back to to the combat.

Aiming down the sight, the girl started shooting. One, two, three walkers falling with a certain bullet on the head. Kate and Charlie right behind, helping as they could, risking their lives in the same way. There was still 4 zombies left.

No ammo. Ana couldn't risk reloading it right there. She kept the pistol on her holster and prepared to attack the reanimated corpses that were desperately trying to kill them.

"MY AMMO! I DON'T HAVE ANY LEFT!" Kate screamed taking a switch-blade from her pocket.

"SAME HERE!" Charlie said, taking his knife and stepping forward to kill a walker that was heading to him. Right in the head, a quick and swift movement and the monster fell, before Ana could her a scream

Kate and Charlie were both fighting against the zombies, holding their heads way from their bodies. Ana was about to run to save Kate, when she could see another undead jump on Ben.

'_Fuck, FUCK' _What could she do now? There was no way to save them both, and Charlie was still trying to kill the walker.

She quickly looked at them both before jumping with the knife on the head of the walker. "I'm sorry, Kate" she whispered and trowed the zombie away from Ben

Her act was followed by the young girl's painful scream. Ana turned her head and could see Kate laying in the ground, her hands desperately making pressure to her neck while crimson blood was splattered in the ground.

Charlie started stabbing the walker as much as he could, turning his rotten and disgusting face in a also mutilated one. The man fell by Kate's side, holding her

"I'm okay… Really…" The girl whispered to Charlie with a little smile on her face.

Ana stepped towards her and knelt by her side "K-Kate… I-I'm sorry… I… I…."

"It's… n-not your fault… You had to save Ben… priorities first, right?" Kate's voice was failing too much, and was so low that was even hard to hear.

Priorities first…. she was right… Ben was her priority. Always was.

Kate started closing her eyes, her heavy breaths was the only audible thing on the place, until the sudden stop.

Ana started crying, her sobs filling the place again. She lightly touched Charlie's shoulder, but he grabbed her arm. His face was pale and contorted in a mix of pain, anger and sadness. The girl's eyes glanced over his wrist, an open wound dripping blood.

"GET. OUT" The man said severely and let out of Ana's arm, turning his attention to Kate's dead body again.

Ana stepped back and turned her body to Ben. "L-let's go" She grabbed his hand and started walking away from the garage, pulling him with her.

So that's what surviving is about, right? Sacrificing some to the sake of others… At least… Ben was still alive and okay, the same for her.

That's what mattered now


	30. Chapter 30

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

The empty click of his gun echoed above all the other noise around him. An empty chamber meant an empty life. It was as though the rotting abominations in front of him were attracted the sound of hopelessness as one of them lunged for him. Grimey hands clamped down on his forearm and a wide open mouth flashing decaying teeth tried to bite into him. The butt of the gun cracked against the skull that loosened the grip for a moment. Just enough for the immediate danger to pass but the former human, or father or brother or lover of someone, held fast onto his jacket.

"Sh-shit! Get off!" Ben could only meekly resist.

The corpse opened its mouth again in an attempt to feast until something tugged it back, fingers roughly pulled from his wrist bending back some of its brittle yellow nails. A crack issued out from an empty skull hitting the concrete floor. A scream joined into the fray. Human. Primitive fear.

Ben snapped his attention to the scream just as Charlie thrust a knife through the head of a zombie. Dead fingers were curled around small shoulders while yellowing teeth were sunk into pale flesh…Kate…

Priorities, Ben repeated in his head as he approached Kate's lying form. Eyes half-lidded heavy from the drunkenness induced from the sweet wine that Death offered in a poisoned chalice. It only dawned on him there that Ana had chose him over her.

"A-Ana?"

Charlie's outburst sent a shiver down his spine. A broken man's cry, wracked with guilt and hate directed towards every corner of himself. Fresh blood dripped from his arm as a ticket to the afterlife.

"I'm sorry…" Ben could only whisper.

He turned his back on the grieving man, he turned his back on the innocence, Instead he walked back out into the sphere of primordial sin.

* * *

Emptiness, nothing but a desolation feeling on Ana's heart. Another person killed by her fault. She kept walking, pulling Ben with her aimlessly in a deep silence. All her words and thoughts were cut by the image of Kate, her young life oozing away... she was still had so much to do on her life.

"I could have saved you both..." Ana whispered, abruptly breaking the silence of the streets. She knew that it wasn't true, just her and a knife, what could she have done? Let Ben die to save someone that was almost a stranger to her?

The heavy fog and cold wind were just cooperating to make the day even more melancholic. Ana let out of Ben's hand and untied her ponytail. Her soft brown hail fell by her shoulders, making her ears a little warmer. The girl crossed her arms and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, just staring at Ben.

"It was my fault... both of them are dead because of me" she whispered, looking at her feet. No tears this time.

"Ben..." Ana hugged him, letting her body enjoy the little spark of hope she could find on the guy. The warmness of his body made her relax a little bit, engulfing herself into a false feeling of protection.

"I'm sorry..."

* * *

No groans of the undead or a distant gunshot, just silence. A silence so loud it screamed with the grief and guilt. Blame followed closely behind him, multiplying into a crowd that pointed accusing fingers at his back. The same back he turned on a dying man and his surrogate daughter.

The silence was interrupted by a hushed confession of guilt.

Ben glanced at her profile and shook his head, "How? Everything went so fast…How could you have saved us both? Look, I don't wanna sound preachy and selfish, but I'm happy that you save me…I really am! But…You can't blame yourself for everything."

Who was he to say such things when he was still blaming himself for two more deaths? As their numbers dwindled, the enemy numbers rose. A scale that tipped in the dead's favour as the bodies of their former allies continued to tumbled into the mass grave of humanity.

Ben wrapped his arms around Ana's slim form and rested his chin on the top of her head, "Don't say that. You tried your best, and sometimes…We can't save everyone."

_We're just human._

* * *

The girl sighed sadly, closing her eyes. _We can't save everyone_. Ana was still denying it; even after all those deaths, the strangers that took care of her and Ben…. and her own family. She couldn't save them.

"I'm glad I saved you" She whispered, breaking the silence again "I wouldn't be capable to go on without you by my side" If Ben died, she would die as well, nothing in that world could change that.

Ana pulled her head away from Ben chest and looked up, holding his shoulders "I guess we need to accept tha-" Her words were cut by a vibration on her jacket. Did her phone was still had battery? She took out the white iphone and took a look at it. No signal, her battery was almost dead, but it showed a reminder: _5th june- Birthday_

The girl sighed and kept the phone on her jacket again. No time for such distractions as birthday. She looked back at Ben "What I was about to say was… That we will need to accept making sacrifices to our own sake… both you and me need to"

Ana took some space between her and the guy, rubbing her eyes. "We need to find somewhere out of the town to stay. The woods aren't too far from where we are, but we will need to avoid the militaries, and the walkers. They're all in big numbers here in Atlanta, and if we get trapped… they're going to be a lot more compared to Stone Mountain"

The forest was the best idea: No walls that can trap them, animals to hunt, they can build a camp, and it will be far from most of the walkers. It was a brilliant idea


	31. Chapter 31

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

"Y-your phone…Is it a text message?" Ben hopefully asked.

Doubt lingered in his mind. It had been days since doom day. there was no way something as trivial as phone reception still worked. His thoughts returned to Ana's words, the guilt coming back to him clawing at his legs like animals begging for attention.

"…I just…Yeah…Sacrifices…" Ben repeated.

By sacrifices, did she mean their morals, their past lives, their humanity? Throwing away his identity just as a thief throwing away stolen diamonds. So precious, yet it wasn't his. Keeping his former self meant the risk of death. Evolve and adapt. Humans were flexible right?

"Maybe we might find more people there? If their friendly…We could make our own group." he optimistically suggested.

* * *

"Maybe… honestly, I don't really want to face more people… but if that's what we need to do to survive…" Ana replied. Her voice sounded more dry than the usual.

The girl looked at the other side, pointing at a sign that indicated the direction for the highway and leaded to out of the town. "We need to follow some miles that way and get another road that will lead us to the forest"

Ana's stomach made a grumble sound, increasing her hunger "Shit… I hope we found at least one animal for us to eat. I need proteins, and rabbit sounds like a good meal. Let's try to make a camp fire to cook it too, by the way"

She reloaded her gun, held Ben's hand and started to walk, cautiously looking at every side of the streets. No walkers there, not even a bare sound of living too, just a heavy silence.

'_How could I forget that today is my birthday? Maybe I should tell Ben when we get to a safe place' _Ana thought, looking at the guy.

After some miles, she could finally see the forest. The girl sighed and forced her legs to keep walking until they were both inside it. "Finally…" She said, leaning on her knees.

"C'mon, we need to get some firewood for us, so we won't freeze at night. I'll try to get some animal, like a rabbit or something for us to cook"

* * *

His fingers intertwined with hers, fingertips lightly brushing over her knuckles. The buildings around them held nothing but abandoned life; an occasional shadow of paranoia that moved behind broken glass or a rustle of papers that were important in a previous life.

"You think we can find any shelter?" Ben asked worriedly.

Their feet left the asphalt and onto soft grass disturbing the green into flattened footsteps. The concrete jungle behind them slowly faded away as tall trees hid them from view. Above them, sunlight dripped between the leaves giving the forest floor a shadowy collage of golden green and drained navy.

"Ugh…Fresh meat sounds good about now." he agreed. "You alright?"

Ana seemed to be plagued by something. Frankly, it was expected after all they had been through.

"Alright, I'll go get some firewood, so shout if you need me?"

* * *

Ana frowned at Ben's words, going alone wasn't a very good idea, but it would spare them some time. Precious time to take a break. "Okay… But… Be careful, stay with your gun prepared, and shout me if you need too" She took a long breath, staring at the guy's hands as she held them. "I'll whistle when I finish hunting"

The girl gave Ben a quick kiss on his cheek and armed herself with her bow, preparing an arrow. "See you later, good luck" She ran to the inside of the forest, careful at every step, trying to focus her mind on any sounds.

After an hour looking, Ana finally heard a noise coming from a bush. The girl pulled the bow's string, aiming the arrow on the font of the noise. In a matter of a second, she spotted the head of a white rabbit, and shot the arrow.

The sharpened metal crossed the animal's head, revealing part of it's brain. Ana looked away for a second, feeling disgusted. She took a deep breath, cached her knife and approached the dead body, pulling it out of the bush.

That rabbit was considerably big, enough for her and Ben to eat without the needing of her to catch another animal. Ana started taking his skin off, on the way her grandfather taught her.

After take the animal's skin off, she took the fresh meat and whistled to Ben. _'I hope he's okay' _She thought.


	32. Chapter 32

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**********Please Review, Follow and Favorite! **

* * *

A soft smile played on his lips before he set out into the woods. Ben started to collect a bundle of twigs and dead grass in his arms while letting his mind wander back to what Joel had told him. Never trust anyone. Guilt stabbed at him at the familiar face that came to mind; piercing grey-green eyes and an aging face still sharp with a survivor's instinct. Listening to a dead man's advice, where would that lead him?

He bit his lip at the unpleasant thoughts that crossed his mind. Stay optimistic, he told himself. After all, his optimism was really his only good trait. Deciding he had enough fodder for the fire Ben turned back and returned to their meeting spot.

Frankly, the woods used to be a nice place. Fond memories of him and Travis lived between the trees, discussing their latest news or just silently enjoying each others company. But now, those happy thoughts were replaced by a paranoia that resided in every humanoid shadow or the rustle of the trees.

Was he being watched?

* * *

"Okay... back to the meeting spot" Ana murmured to herself as she started walking again. Her hands were soaked by the dead rabbit's blood, making a simple thing, such as carrying her pistol complicated. "Ugh... I need to wash my hands..."

The sound of leaves crushing behind her feet was the only sound on the woods, giving a creepy atmosphere and leaving Ana with a slight sensation of fear, like if something was behind her. 'Don't look back, just keep going, it's all your head' she thought, trying to calm down. 'Almost there'

Ana saw Ben's tall silhouette from behind the trees, right where they combined to meet. She walked faster to him, almost running and abruptly stopped when saw all the fodder he got. The girl opened a sweet smile "Great job, Ben! Now we just need to find somewhere good for us to make a camp. I remember seeing a river near here somewhere... Oh, and I got a rabbit for us, nothing very special but... well"

The girl sighed and started walking again "C'mon, it's 3 or 4 pm, I think... so we still have a long time until the night"

* * *

A faint grimace showed on Ben's face from the skinned rabbit. Food was food but he couldn't help but compare the gore to the carnage he'd seen over the previous days.

"Er, camp sounds good." he gulped and shifted the twigs in his arms.

If he couldn't handle the simple corpse of a small animal, how was he supposed to keep going on in a world covered in a sudden epidemic of cannibalism and murder? Ben could only shake his head in contempt at himself as he continued to follow Ana. Instead he focused on her ponytail and how it brushed along the nape of her neck with each step. Each swish sent free strands to brush along her shoulders and cling onto the back of her neck. He wasn't sure what held his gaze for so long but he couldn't help but stare at the brown strands that were highlighted in the afternoon light.

Before he knew it, a glistening river with crystal clear water carved into the ground flowed in front of him like liquid sunlight. Green grass curled and danced around the river sending reflections of green onto the moving current.

* * *

Ana stopped walking when spotted the river. A soft smile was placed on her lips while she carefully seated by the edge, talking some water between her hands, slowly cleaning them and trowing some water on her face.

The girl sighed and looked at Ben "Here seems like a good place to stay, doesn't it?… It's so peaceful, kinds reminds me of the old times… Even though the old times were… less than a week ago" She looked at her reflex in the crystalline water of the river. Her face, before tinted with dirt and spatters of blood was now completely clean by the fresh water, reveling the thin scar on her forehead and some bruises on her jawline and cheeks. The girl made a angry face at herself and everted her gaze, looking up to the sky.

"We should make the campfire here and light it up" she mumbled to Ben without looking away of the blue sky. No sight of clouds, just the beautiful light blue and the sunlight reflexing in the girl's face.

'It doesn't feel any different… being officially a 17 year old, maybe it's because I usually say that I already am…' Ana thought, taking the bow and the quiver full of arrows out of her back.

She rubbed her eyes, and stood up again, walking to Ben and taking the fodder, putting it on the ground. The girl turned her attention back to the dead rabbit's meat, leaned carefully on her backpack, It was a luck that her mother thought her how to cook.

Ana stretched, and released her hair from the ponytail, letting the long brown strands fall free by her shoulders. The day was considerably hot this time, and her shirt was getting uncomfortable already. The girl unbuttoned her blue plaid shirt and tied around her hips, remanning with her black tank top.

The girl wrapped her arms around Ben's waist, looking up at him with a half smile "Maybe now we can have some peace again. Let's pray for nothing to happen with us this time, huh?" She closed her eyes, leaning her head on his chest before putting herself on toes and whisper "Hey, huh… I gotta tell you something later, okay? Is not important to be honest" After that, she leaned in, kissing the guy on his lips. Honestly, Ana never imagined that Ben would have become so much to her. He was everything now; Her family, her best friend, and her lover. A tear rolled down her cheek during the kiss, followed by the thought of her family_. _Nothing would ever be the same again, right?


	33. Chapter 33

**This story was writen by ask-punk-ben-twdg and annie-croft on Tumblr. Each break on it represents someone's reply.**

**Please Review, Follow and Favorite**

* * *

Ben sat dejectedly at the bus stop. Today had had to been the shittiest day of his life. First he got caught cutting class and had to stay for detention. Then he was thrown into a dumpster by a crowd of jocks. And then he missed the late bus. Ben sighed again and concentrated on his shoes. A piece of old pizza was still stuck to it from the dumpster. Disgusted, Ben leaned down to pick it off, when he felt someone else sit next to him.

* * *

That has been a quite good day to Ana. She finally could get some time to be with her father and then enjoy some of the good things of her grandparents' town. All the time he was so busy with that police stuff in Atlanta… She sat at the bus stop, waiting to get back home, well, if her grandma's house could be called "home" The girl smiled when thinking about her day. No classes, no worries, no problems, even trough she like the shot and archery classes. Ana looked at the guy at her side, a student, of course. "Hey there!" She said, smiling sweetly. Maybe that was her chance to make some friends.

* * *

Ben was able to get most of the pizza off his foot when a girl's voice broke his concentration. He quickly sat back straight accidentally hitting his head hard on the plexiglass behind him. "Owwwwww…" he groaned as he clutched his head. "Uh…Hi." he replied a little embarrassed still rubbing the back of his head. Well, that was another thing he could add to his list of shitty things that happened today.

* * *

"Oh shit! You're alright?!" She looked confused to the guy. "Are you hurt?" Ana flushed and looked down. She wasn't used to talk to strange people, and didn't had a damn idea of how to start a conversation. She started to unzip her jacket, it was getting too hot. That was when she remembered what was inside it, and started zipping again. Her father was a little too worried about Ana's protection, so he always told her to walk with something to protect herself. In this case, a little switch-blade that she carried in her jacket's inside pocket. She looked at the guy again, she should be a little friendly at least. "Huh…" Why couldn't she find words now?

* * *

"Uh-Ye-yeah! I'm okay." Ben winced as his words came out a bit too forced. He raised an eyebrow when the girl unzipped then zipped up her jacket. Was she hiding something? "U-um…" Ben awkwardly started, "Whi-which bus are you waiting for?" Might as well start some small talk while he was here.

* * *

"The one to Hamilton Street… You?" She frowned trying to think about something. That was Ana, great with weapons, terrible with words. Quite humiliating. She took a rubber band out of her pocket and tied her hair in a ponytail. "So… You study in Stone Mountain High School, right?" The girl said pointing to his jacket. Her father studied there when he was young.

* * *

"Me too." Ben nodded. Here was the weird punk kid in school talking to a pretty thing like her. All the jocks probably would've beat him for it by now if they saw. "Yep, what about you? I don't think I've ever seen you around here." Ben asked. Her accent was the first thing that tipped him off.

* * *

"Oh, I don't live here. I'm from Atlanta. Just, you know, visiting my grandparents… Well, I'm not FROM Atlanta, I was born and raised most of my life on Brazil, moved with my family 4 years ago, but I guess I haven't lost the accent" she smiled at the guy. "By the way, my name's Ana"

* * *

"Atlanta?" Ben repeated. He'd been there several times on the weekends with his family. It was quite a nice place. "Wow, Brazil? Jeez that a long way away huh? I've never been there, but is it nice?" Ben asked, genuinely curious. "My names Ben. Ben Paul" he replied.

Just then, the bus came to a screeching halt in front of them. "This is the bus." Ben murmured and let Ana board first, trying to be polite.

* * *

"Well, it is… Very nice." She crossed her arms while thinking about her past country. To be honest, her memories about those 13 years seemed so vague… "Nice to meet you, Ben" she said, trying to look a little more comfortable. In that moment, the bus arrived, and she got in with Ben.

* * *

The pair sat at a window seat near the back. "Hey, so you heard about the weird shit that's been going on? You know, the 'zombie' cases?" Ben asked. Lately he heard about people getting bitten and corpses getting back up. Personally, he thought the media was trying to get more attention and didn't believe in those reports.

* * *

"Yes, I did. I can't believe something like this would happen… I don't think it's real. Maybe they just want attention" Ana heard her father talking with one of his partners, another cop, about this. "It's crazy ain't it? People coming back from the death…"

* * *

"Yeah I know right? Seriously, the media needs to get better ideas if they wanna trick us." he chuckled. Ben overheard a woman on her phone complain about a bite she had received at work. He glanced at her in his peripheral vision noting her unusual paleness. Probably too much foundation or whatever women put on their faces, he concluded. He turned his attention back to Ana and admitted, "Imagine if it was all real though? I don't think I could survive a day."

* * *

Ana noticed the pale women in the phone. Did she said that she was…bitten? Ana got slightly afraid of that. What if it was true? She unzipped her jacket and pulled out her switch-blade the fast as she could, passing it to her front pocket, and praying for Ben to don't see it. What would he think? Probably that she was a psycho or something like it. She frowned when he said that he wouldn't last a day if something like that happens. "That's not true…" Ana started thinking about that, what if what they're saying were true? Would she survive? _Of course I would_, she taught. All her training wouldn't be for nothing.

* * *

"You think so? I dunno, I kinda scare easily." he admitted. Ben continued to look out the window, discreetly listening to the woman's phone conversation. "Ugh…And then that guy…He just bit me. My head…Uh, it hurts so bad. Uhhhh…" Her words were slurred as if she were drunk. The woman started to violently cough. Suddenly, her phone clattered on the ground and slid underneath the seat Ben and Ana were currently occupying. Ben bent down and picked up the smartphone. When he turned back around he was shocked to see the woman in a strange stupor. "Uuuhhhh…" She moaned as she stared off into nothingness. "Um…Miss? Y-you okay there?" Ben quizzically looked at the woman. He turned to Ana and whispered, "She high or something?"

* * *

Ana raised a eyebrow when the woman started violently coughing. She was in high alert now, holding the blade inside her pocket. Ana wasn't the kind of girl who gets scared easily, but that was being terrifying to her. She immediately jumped on her seat when the women let her phone fell behind their seats. When Ben got the phone, and that women just sat there looking to nowhere, moaning, Ana got really scared. "I don't know if she's high… But she's fucking scaring me" she admitted

* * *

"Yeah. Same." Ben agreed. He warily got out of his seat and squeezed past Ana. Even if the woman might be high as the sky, he still needed to check up on her. "Uh 'Scuse me? Ar-are you alright?" Ben cautiously approached her. Still no response. The woman continued to stare into space. Ben glanced back at Ana and shook his head. "Miss. Look, are you high or something?" he bluntly asked and extended his arm out to tap her shoulder. The woman's previous groaning turned into a low grumbling. As soon as Ben tapped her shoulder she lunged at him and knocked him backwards into the seats behind him. "FUCK!" Ben cursed as he held the crazed lady by the neck to keep her away. She snapped and snarled at him, clawing at his arms to try and grab a hold of him.

* * *

"BEN!" Ana instantly panicked at that. What was wrong with that women? Was she one of…then? Whoever "they" were. The girl got her switch-blade out of her pocked and jumped at the women, stabbing her in the shoulder. But something was wrong… That didn't helped, looked like that that freak hasn't even felt the stab. The women knocked Ana on the floor, completely paralyzing her legs. "FUCK!" The girl took the blade and stabbed the women in the head. That worked at last. Ana pushed the dead body to the side. And in that moment, looked back at her weapon, it was full of blood, just like her hands and some of her face. It was that women' blood. She stood there for some seconds before notice that all the other people in the bus were looking at her like if she just murdered someone, and after 5 seconds of silence, everyone lost their shit


End file.
